Banana Puddin'

[Varmint]

I tried the fried banana pudding, fortunately just getting a free sample. What this is, as Gifted Gourmet surmised, is just a deep fried banana that they then drop into some instant vanilla pudding. Very gross and disappointing.

And not nearly as good as my fried bologna sandwich with cheese and grilled onions. ;-)

[Lexica]

I tried the fried banana pudding, fortunately just getting a free sample.  What this is, as Gifted Gourmet surmised, is just a deep fried banana that they then drop into some instant vanilla pudding.  Very gross and disappointing.

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Disappointing indeed, and not nearly as interesting as the mental picture I had of somebody figuring out a way to deep-fry a portion of banana pudding.

[Gifted Gourmet]

That was my very quick initial reaction as well, Lexica! I could envision a glob of banana pudding being lowered into a deep fryer and coming apart without eggs to hold it together ... horrible!

Deep frying the bananas first began to make more sense ...

[andiesenji]

This made me think of the deep fried Twinkies sold at the L.A. County fair (and others) - - -

If there are no more Twinkies, what are they going to deep fry, banana muffins?

Of course there is that ersatz "Twinkie-like" filled cake thingy made by one of the other commercial bakeries. I just can't recall the name at the moment. Come to think of it, I think it is banana flavored.

There is, of course, deep fried ice cream.

I bet deep fried pudding would work. You would have to roll it in something like corn flake crumbs first - or maybe in a little filo dough beggar's bag, or in a won ton wrapper.

The mind boggles at all the possibilities. maybe I should fire up the deep fryer and see how it goes............

Of course I would first have to get some bananas - ah ha! Vallarta is having a sale...

Off to the market, soon.

Edited October 16, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[EllenH]

I am definitely in the "no topping" camp...my mom, from SE Kentucky, made it that way -- also homemade pudding only.

Thanksgiving's coming up & she hasn't made banana pudding in years....maybe I can talk her into it! Yum, that and pumpkin pie, my lord -- dessert nirvana!

[Gifted Gourmet]

And when you are the upscale, glitzy Buckhead Diner of Atlanta, you offer your customers one of the all time prizewinning variations on banana pudding: White Chocolate Banana Creme Pie

the original recipe

“The Buckhead Diner in Atlanta, Georgia, is an updated, postmodern homage to the diner, a genuine American institution. In the same way, former chef-owner Gerry Klaskala’s banana cream pie is a new reading of an old favorite – with its spirit kept intact.

[hershellipow]

I have seen banana pudding with whipped cream topping on occasion and wondered why people stray from the traditional merangue I grew up enjoying in Mississippi. Is there a sub-regional difference in taste?  

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In his book North Carolina Barbecue: Flavored by Time, Bob Garner offers two recipes for banana pudding: a winter pudding, topped with meringue and allowed to mellow at room temperature, and a summer pudding, which is layered with whipped cream and softened in the refrigerator.

Me, I like meringue. I like how it gets slightly browned and caramelized; I like the elegance and economy of using the yolks for one part of the dish and the whites for the other; and I like its airiness, and the tiny bubbles that pop on your tongue.

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Very interesting to vary the topping by season. Makes sense, but I agree that meringue makes my day any day of the year. Thanks to all those who responded to my query - even if I spelled meringue phonetically.

[Swisskaese]

Edited because my computer was misbehavin.

Edited November 13, 2004 by Swisskaese (log)

[Swisskaese]

Of course there is that ersatz "Twinkie-like" filled cake thingy made by one of the other commercial bakeries.  I just can't recall the name at the moment.  Come to think of it, I think it is banana flavored. 

That would be a Little Debbie Banana Twin and that is probably a whole other Southern topic.