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Banana Milk

Subject: Banana Milk
From: Alan
Date: 2/28/2019
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

On 2/28/2019, Alan wrote:

Have you ever heard of something called "banana milk?" I was in South Korea in 1980,
and it was popular there. 

Hello Alan,

I think that I have found this. Apparently, it was popular in Vietnam as well as South Korea. The recipe below is a military recipe from the Vietnam era that I found in "How to Feed an Army: Recipes and Lore from the Front Lines" by J.G. Lewin & P. J. Huff. According to the book, "banana milk" became very popular in South Korea in the 1970s.

Phaed

Banana Milk for 10

1 1/2 quarts water
1 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk
2 eggs, beaten
dash salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

Sprinkle dry milk on the surface of the water; beat with a whisk just enough 
to blend milk and water. Stir in eggs, salt, sugar and vanilla. Add bananas 
and blend thoroughly. Chill before serving.
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Subject: Banana Milk
From: gwen 
Date: 3/4/2019, 10:09 AM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

In response to this: http://hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0301fa19.htm

While you may very well have fulfilled the requestor’s desire, in case anyone comes 
looking for Korean banana milk I thought I’d mention another possibility, and I 
personally think this is what the requestor is seeking: banana flavored milk, 
commercially produced. 

Binggrae is the classic brand, having introduced banana milk in 1974 upon the South 
Korean government’s push to get the public to drink more milk, taking advantage of 
the inflated expense of real bananas at the time which gave the product mass appeal 
as an affordable luxury. It is truly a national craze in Korea, and has been essentially 
since its introduction. According to popularly quoted statistics, currently well over 
half a million bottles of banana milk are sold each day in Korea, and well over six 
billion bottles have been sold since its debut. While other dairy companies produce 
banana milk, Binggrae is the archetype and have an 80% market share. Their product 
is light yellow milk in a very distinctively shaped small, squat bottle.

Banana milk's ingredients at present are as follows: milk, water, sugar, skim milk powder, 
whey powder, banana juice concentrate (0.32%) [banana]**, artificial flavors, mono- and 
diglycerides of fatty acids, carrageenan, guar gum, annatto.

**Originally, the product only contained banana flavor, but recently due to labeling 
reasons (and the affordability of bananas now versus when they first made the product) 
they’ve added real banana. The version the requestor desires from the 80s most likely 
only had banana flavor. So, ostensibly he could recreate the product with whole milk 
and banana flavor (and sugar), but getting his hands on banana flavor similar to that 
they used would be very difficult! Commonly available banana flavor extract is quite 
different. 

Banana milk from Korea can be purchased in many Asian grocery stores all over the 
United States, and also ordered online (such as through amazon.com).

For all recipes below, please note that while the milk will keep for two days refrigerated, 
discoloration will likely occur. 

Banana milk from scratch
2 ripe bananas
1 pint milk
2 heaping tbsps powdered sugar
Blend and use immediately.

Korean banana milk
1 banana (ripe), sliced or broken into pieces
1/2 cup milk , regular
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp maple syrup
A small drop pure vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and has milk-like consistency. 
Serve immediately.

Imitation banana milk
2 1/2 cups milk
3 ripe bananas
1 tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Blend all ingredients together and serve.

Faux Korean Banana milk.
1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen into chunks
1 cup water
Pinch salt
Dash ground cinnamon, optional
1/2 tsp vanilla, optional 
Blend all ingredients on high until very smooth, adding more water if needed. 
Serve immediately.

Banana milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup powdered milk
2 ripe bananas 
1 cup milk
Optional: sweetener to taste
Optional: vanilla to taste
Add water to blender, then powder. Blend on low until well mixed, then add bananas 
and milk. 
Blend on high, use immediately or chill then serve.

Blended banana milk
1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup cold liquid Carnation Instant Nonfat Milk
1 small banana
1 teaspoon sugar

Combine whole milk, liquid instant milk, banana and sugar in blender jar. Blend until smooth. 
Pour into serving glass. Serve. Makes 1 2/3 cup Source: How to Feed Your Family Better for 
Less (Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk), Carnation Company, 1975

Best,
Gwen