banana pudding

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Banana pudding

| image = Banana pudding, homemade.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Banana pudding served in a bowl with vanilla wafers

| alternate_name =

| country = United StatesMary Harris Frazer, The Kentucky Receipt Book (BiblioBazaar, October 9, 2008), page 221. {{ISBN|0-559-33134-7}}

| region = Southern United States

| creator =

| course = Dessert

| type = Pudding

| served =

| main_ingredient = Bananas, Vanilla Wafers or ladyfingers, custard, vanilla flavoring

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

Banana pudding (sometimes banana cream pudding) is a dessert generally consisting of layers of sweet vanilla-flavored custard, vanilla wafers or ladyfingers, and sliced fresh bananas which are assembled in a dish and served topped with whipped cream or meringue.{{cite news|title= Southern Banana Pudding|url= https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2003/11/03/southern-banana-pudding|publisher= The Splendid Table (American Public Media)|first= David|last= Rosengarten|date= November 2003|access-date= 2022-09-17|archive-date= 2022-09-20|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170745/https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2003/11/03/southern-banana-pudding|url-status= live}}

It is commonly associated with Southern US cuisine, but it can be found around the country in specific areas.Richard Sax, Classic Home Desserts: A Treasury of Heirloom and Contemporary Recipes from Around the World (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 1, 2000), page 138. {{ISBN|0-618-00391-6}}

Ingredients and preparation

A typical method for making banana pudding is to repeatedly layer the bananas, custard, and wafers into a dish and top with whipped cream or meringue. Over time, the wafers will absorb the custard and the layers will combine, causing the flavors to intermingle.Tomlinson, Tommy. "Food." Our State Magazine. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. .

Banana pudding can be prepared using a baked or refrigerated method, with the latter being the more popular, particularly among home cooks. Moreover, many recipes have been adapted using vanilla or banana pudding instead of a true custard. Other recipes omit the wafers.

History

Bananas began to gain popularity in the US after the Civil War. The first known reference to banana pudding came in an 1878 "Information Wanted" column from The New York Times, and the first recipe in an 1888 issue of the Massachusetts-based Good Housekeeping magazine—it was similar to an English trifle, utilizing layers of sponge cake with custard and bananas.

Recipes for banana pudding became very popular in the 1890s across the US, with the sponge cake approach being the most popular, though some used ladyfingers.{{Cite web |title=How Banana Pudding Became a Southern Icon |url=https://www.seriouseats.com/history-southern-banana-pudding |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Serious Eats |language=en}}

File:Classic Banana Pudding.jpg

In 1920, the use of vanilla wafers instead of ladyfingers first appeared, first seen in a recipe from Mrs. Laura Kerley in a Bloomington, Illinois local newspaper, The Pantagraph. Following the rise in popularity of using wafers, in the 1940s the National Biscuit Company (later known as Nabisco) began printing a recipe for banana pudding on the Nilla Wafers box, whose marketing helped further boost the dessert's acclaim.{{Cite web |title=Like Its Complicated History, Banana Pudding Has Many Layers |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/banana-pudding-history-recipes |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}}

The Nabisco recipe closely resembled popular versions of today, calling for "lining a baking dish with layers of vanilla wafers and sliced bananas, pouring custard over them, and spreading meringue across the top." However, it called for baking the dessert at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.

It is clear that banana pudding did not begin with the strong ties to the Southern US that it maintains today, though there is no consensus on how the Southern identity developed. Some have theorized that it developed naturally through large gatherings such as church picnics, family reunions, and barbecues, because the dessert is easy to scale up, requires no cooking, and keeps well.{{Cite web |title=How Banana Pudding Became a Southern Icon |url=https://www.seriouseats.com/history-southern-banana-pudding |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Serious Eats |language=en}}

National Banana Pudding Festival

The National Banana Pudding Festival is held at the Centerville River Park in Centerville, Tennessee. It is a 2-day event held on the first weekend of October.{{cite web |title=National Banana Pudding Festival returns for 9th year in Centerville |url=https://www.columbiadailyherald.com/lifestyle/20180908/national-banana-pudding-festival-returns-for-9th-year-in-centerville |website=The Daily Herald |language=en |date=September 8, 2018 |access-date=March 9, 2020 |archive-date=September 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911104945/http://www.columbiadailyherald.com/lifestyle/20180908/national-banana-pudding-festival-returns-for-9th-year-in-centerville |url-status=dead }}

Similar dishes

Banana cream pie is a dish of Southern cuisine that includes bananas and custard in a prebaked pie crust, topped with whipped cream
Trifle, a dish in English cuisine that combines fruit and custard layered with sponge cake and topped with whipped cream