Illustration by Sarah Wiseby
At Thanksgiving, birthdays, holidays, and even funerals, you’ll find banana pudding on the dessert table, a sweet treat to top off a meal. Though the English trifle—what’s known as the earliest version of banana pudding—started making the rounds in America in the 1800s (Good Housekeeping published a recipe for it in 1888), it wasn’t until after World War II that it became a staple in African American households. Black home cooks in the South latched on to the dish and made it a must-have dessert when bananas became widely available. When Nabisco printed a recipe for it on boxes of Nilla Wafers, the recipe got a new ingredient and the tradition was set.
The Great Migration brought the new version of the dessert to the North and West Coast when nearly 6 million African Americans moved from southern states over a five-decade period beginning in the 1920s. They brought family recipes along with them, including banana pudding. The majority of the recipes were passed down through generations, from one family cook to the next. “It’s one of those iconic dishes that we know will be on the table every year for special occasions and holidays,” says Crystal Marie, owner of Magnificent Morsels Kitchen. “It feels great to know that these things get to live on differently and other people get to experience them in a new way.” Though every family recipe may feature a different twist, the base of the dessert consists of bananas, pudding mix, vanilla wafers, and a whipped topping. Get it locally at Magnificent Morsels Kitchen and Makers Bakers Co.
- Magnificent Morsels Kitchen, 3253 Jefferson Ave., Corryville, (513) 221-0042
- Makers Bakers Co., 1801 Race St. Over-the-Rhine, (513) 807-9748
