1st Place Banana Nut Bread

From "The Green Thumb Harvest" Cookbook. This won first prize in 1889 at the Wabash, Indiana County Fair by her great-grandmother according to the woman who submitted it. This makes 2 loaves.

• Ready In: 1 hr 20 mins
• Serves: 16
• Yields: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1  cup sweet butter, softened
• 2 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 2  teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4  eggs, beaten
• 3 1⁄2 cups  unsifted unbleached flour
• 2  teaspoons baking soda
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1⁄2 cups  mashed very ripe bananas
• 2  cups  chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2 loaf pans.
2. Pour the lemon juice into the milk and stir until the milk is curdled. Set aside.
3. Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add the eggs, mixing thoroughly.
4. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter-sugar mixture alternately with the curdled milk. Stir in the bananas and nuts.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.