Flour and Powder:
Flour can be made from green unripe banana, cooking banana or plantain. Fruits are handpeeled and sliced or chopped into pieces about 5-10 mm thick. The slices will be dried in the sun by spreading out the slices on mats, on bamboo framework, on cement floors, or on a roof or sheets of corrugated iron or simply on a swept bare ground. Various designs of solar dryers can also be used, or they may be dried in ovens, over fires, in a cabinet dryer or tunnel dryer.
Chips (Crisps):
Various methods of preparing banana or plantain chips have been in practice. Typically, unripe banana or plantain may be thinly sliced vertically or transversely (1.2-0.8 mm thick). The slices are immersed in a sodium or potassium metabisulphate solution (to improve the colour of the final product or to prevent discolouration) and fried in hydrogenated oil at 180-200°C. The fried slices are dusted with salt and antioxidant (e.g. butylatedhydroxytoluene to delay rancidity. Alternatively slices may be dried before frying and the antioxidant and salt are added with the oil. Fried chips should have moisture content of about 1.5 to 2.0%. The temperature at which the chips are fried and the frying time affects their oil content, appearance, texture and flavour. The chips must be packed in moisture proof bags to prevent them absorbing moisture and losing their crispness.
Jam and Jelly:
The various methods of preparing jam and jelly have been in practice. In one method for the preparation of jelly, fully ripe or over-ripe fruits are used. Fruits are hand-peeled and cut into 2 cm pieces or slices. The slices are boiled for 1 hr in 60° Brix sugar syrup at the rate of 1 lb of banana to 1 pint of syrup (454 g to 0.5681). This is then strained and the clear solution is boiled until it sets. The pH should be adjusted to 3.5. Pectin may be added to improve the set. A commercial formula for producing banana jam is as follows: 200 lbs of sugar, 10 gallons of water and 12 ounces of cream of tartar. These are heated to 110°C and then 2.5 gallons of lemon juice (lime juice or citric acid can be used to replace the lemon juice to reduce the pH of the jam to 3.5) are added. The mixture is heated to 107°C until the correct consistency is obtained.
Banana figs:
Fully ripe fruits with a sugar content of about 19.5% are used and are treated with sulphurous acid after peeling, then dried as soon as possible afterwards. Various drying systems have been described using temperatures between 50 and 82°C for 10 to 24 h to give a moisture content ranging from 8 to 18% and a yield of dried figs of 12 to 17% of the fresh banana on the stem. One factory in Australia uses a solar heat collector on the roof to augment the heat used for drying bananas. Bananas can also be dried by osmotic dehydration, using a technique which involves drawing water from 1/4-in. thick banana by placing them in a sugar solution of 67 to 70 deg. Brix for 8 to 10 h. followed by vacuum-drying at 65 to 70°C, at a vacuum of 10 mm Hg for 5 h. The moisture content of the final products is 2.5% or less, much lower than that achieved by other methods.
Banana Slice:
Several methods for canning of banana slices in syrup are used. Best-quality slices are obtained from fruit at an early stage of ripeness. The slices are processed in a syrup of 25 deg. Brix with pH about 4.2, and in some processes calcium chloride (0.2%) or calcium lactate (0.5%) are added as firming agents. A method for producing an intermediatemoisture banana product for sale in flexible laminate pouches has been developed. Banana slices are blanched and equilibrated in a solution containing glycerol (42.5%), sucrose (14.85%), potassium sorbate (0.45%), and potassium metabisulphite (0.2%) at 90 deg. C for 3 min. to give a moisture content of 30.2%.
Banana purée :
Banana purée is obtained by pulping peeled, ripe bananas and then preserving the pulp by one of three methods: canning aseptically, acidification followed by normal canning, or quickfreezing. The bulk of the world’s purée is processed by the aseptic canning technique. Peeled, ripe fruits are conveyed to a pump which forces them through a plate with 1/4-in. holes, then onto a homogeniser, followed by a centrifugal de-aerator, and into a receiving tank with 29in. vacuum, where the removal of air helps prevent discoloration by oxidation. The purée is then passed through a series of scraped surface heat exchangers where it is sterilised by steam, partially cooled, and finally brought to filling temperature. The sterilised purée is then packed aseptically into steam-sterilised cans which are closed in a steam atmosphere.
Banana beverages:
In a typical process, peeled ripe fruit is cut into pieces, blanched for 2 min in steam, pulped and pectolytic enzyme added at a concentration of 2 g enzyme per 1 kg pulp, then held at 60 to 65° C and 2.7 to 5.5 pH for 30 min. In a simpler method, lime is used to eliminate the pectin. Calcium oxide (0.5%) is added to the pulp and after standing for 15 min. this is neutralised giving a yield of up to 88% of a clear, attractive juice. In another process banana pulp is acidified, and steam-blanched in a 28-in Hg vacuum which ensures disintegration and enzyme inactivation. The pulp is then conveyed to a screw press, the resulting purée diluted in the ratio 1:3 with water, and the pH adjusted by further addition of citric acid to 4.2 to 4.3, which yields an attractive drink when this is centrifuged and sweetened.
Apart from being a very important food product, banana products and by-products have other many different uses and applications:
Banana fiber
It is used for handicraft and art in baskets, carpets and so on. The fiber is also used for the manufacturing of banana paper.
Animal feeding
Bananas which do not arrive to fulfill quality requirements for export and banana waste may be used for animal feeding.
Banana leave
They are used for wrapping food when cooking in many countries.
Intercropping
In some cases, banana cultivation is used to give shade to other crops that need it, such are coffee or cocoa.
Tourism
Banana production areas can be shown for tourism interests.
Medicinal use
Bananas are considered to be good for the treatment of gastric ulcer and diarrhea. Because they contain vitamin A, bananas and plantains act as an aid to digestion. Due to their high content of B6 vitamin, they help to reduce stress and anxiety. They are also considered beneficial for cancer prevention and heart diseases. The high content of carbohydrates makes of them a very good source of energy, for example, for people practicing sports. Potassium helps to better brain functioning.
The change in consumer eating habits has given place to new preferences as consumers in developed countries have become more sophisticated and more exigent with the bananas they demand, as it has happened with produce and food consumption
In general at present consumers are interested in many additional issues. Consumers 60 are becoming increasingly aware of the health and nutritive benefits of eating more fresh fruit. They are also more interested in dietary issues, consuming more low fat and sugar food, which favours consumption of fruits. The campaign 5 a day launched by Produce for Better Health Foundation in USA, and extended later, all over the world, is trying to encourage the consumption of fruit on health grounds following this trend towards healthy products.
Banana can be used to avoid the following major diseases,
- Anemia: Because of high iron content in banana, it is very useful for anemia sufferer.
- Blood Pressure: Banana has high potassium and low salt content, helpful to hit blood pressure.
- Memory loss: Recent research report shows that the potassium packed fruit can helpful to boost the memory. So Banana is very useful to students during their exams.
- Depression: According to MIND survey amongst people who suffered from depression, many felt much recovered after eating a banana. This is because banana has tryptophan. The tryptophan is a protein converts your body into serotonin that make you relax, improve your mood and make you feel happier
- Hangovers: Drinking banana milkshake sweetened with honey is one of the easiest ways to cure a hangover. Normally the banana has the power to calms the stomach, honey builds up depleted blood sugar levels and milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
- Heartburn: Banana has a natural antacid which has the power to give relief from Heartburn
- Morning Sickness: Taking bananas between meals helpful to maintain blood sugar levels up and keep you away from morning sickness.
- Mosquito bites: Rubbing with inner side of the banana skin has the power to reduce the swelling and irritation caused by mosquito
- Nerves: Because of high vitamin B, banana helps to calm the nervous system
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Banana is very useful for SAD sufferers because they have the natural mood enhancer, tryptophan.
- Strokes: According to the research “The New England Journal of Medicine”, the banana cut the risk of death caused by strokes by as much as 40%.
- Temperature control: Banana is very useful for pregnant women to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
- Ulcers: The banana can be used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness.
- Warts: Take a part of banana skin and keep it on the wart area with the yellow side out.
