How to cook bananas

The banana is an elongated, curved, tropical fruit with a smooth outer skin that peels off easily when the fruit is ripe. Bananas are harvested while still green but may be ripened under controlled conditions before being delivered to the grocery store. Yellow bananas are fully ripe when the skin has small flecks of brown. The flesh of the ripe banana has a distinct creamy texture and sweet fragrance.

Family – Musaceae
Scientific name – Musa paradisiaca L.

Common name – banana, plantain

High in vitamin B6
A good source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber

Banana varieties

The familiar yellow banana sold in the United States is the Cavendish variety, which is 5 to 10 inches in length and available all year. Red bananas from Latin America are slightly wider and are heavier and sweeter than yellow bananas. Their red skin turns purple when ripe. Manzano bananas (also called finger or apple bananas) are short and chubby with a mild, strawberry-apple flavor. They turn fully black when ripe. Plantains (also called green or cooking bananas), thick-skinned bananas that range from green to yellow to brown-black, are a staple food in many parts of the world. When unripe plantains are cooked, they have no banana flavor; however, when cooked ripe, they have a sweet banana taste and a slightly chewy texture.

Banana origin and botanical facts

Originating in the Malaysian region about 4,000 years ago, the banana was not introduced to the Americas until the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876. Today, the banana is the leading fresh fruit sold in the United States and the second leading fruit crop in the world. The United States grows about 4,000 tons of bananas annually and imports a total of 1.6 million tons annually from South America. Worldwide, India is the largest banana grower, followed by Africa, where bananas are mostly kept for local use.

A banana tree is technically not a tree, but rather a tree-like herb that belongs to the grass family. It can attain a height of 10 to 40 feet when fully grown. The banana is actually a berry that has been cultivated to have no seeds. The non-woody banana stalk develops a flowering stem and seven to nine buds that each sustain one cluster (hand) of 10 to 20 bananas (fingers). The stalks are cut after producing the fruit, and new stems grow from buds in the rootstock.

How to cook bananas

Ripening of green bananas can be hastened by putting the fruit into a paper bag. Ripe bananas can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; although the skin turns dark brown, the fruit remains edible. Unripe bananas should not be refrigerated. Bananas become sweeter as they ripen (as most of the starch converts to sugar) and are most often consumed raw or in desserts such as puddings, pies, and sweet breads. Banana slices should be dipped into acidulated water (dilute lemon juice) to prevent browning. Pureed banana can be added to pancake batter. Because they are rich in tannins, plantains are bitter and must be cooked to be palatable.