*ALL ABOUT BANANAS

Intro Photo courtesy of Billa AG.

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Banana...Banane...Banani - Banana is its name in English, Banane is the name in German and Banani, it's Bruno Banani! You can consult Google to find out what Bruno Banani is.

How many of us had banana in our lunch boxes almost everyday when we were growing up? We ate it during class recess. And Folks, don't throw the banana peels all over. It is dangerous to step on it.

Imagine being stranded in a very far away island like Tom Hanks in his movie, Cast Away. Your boat ran out of gas and paddling back to the main land would be impossible. You reach almost the shores. Closing in, you hear the macaque monkeys cooing each other. Suddenly a flock of birds of paradise make an escape as you approach, as you set foot on the sand dunes. Everything is green around you, even the waters behind you. Do you know why the ocean waters are sometimes green and sometimes blue? Green waters mean shallow waters and blue waters mean deep. The depth depends on the intensity of the color haze.

You are getting hungry. The stomach is complaining and growling. There are lots of fish in the waters but how do you catch them? So, you go up the hill and look for some fruits, mangoes but more likely bananas. The scientific name of banana is Musa acuminata. All Photos below courtesy of Wikemedia Commons

Before I continue my story, I would like to ask the followers of my Lens, Have you ever seen a banana plant in your life, LIVE? You better look at the photo carefully and impregnate the image into your mind. In case you get stranded also one day in your life in one of the tropical islands, you have to look for the banana plant.

Why do I call it plant and not a tree? It is because a tree has hard barks around it and rings which explain how old the tree is. The banana plant has soft body and the trunk is composed of wrapped around white soft barks. If you cut the trunk of the plant, you can use it to make your boat afloat or you can use 5 or 6 of them to make a Catamaran. The banana trunk floats because each bark has tiny cubicles in them. You can use lianas to keep them together. But be careful, the trunks have sticky sap on them that it may be difficult to take them out from your hands. The sticky substance can only be taken out using oil. Where do you get oil in the middle of the jungle? I will tell you later. Meanwhile, you have to go around the island with sticky hands for a while.

The leaves of the banana can be used as roofing for your make shift hut. The leaves can also be used as packing materials for food. Forget expensive aluminum foils or wax paper. Just cut off the ribs of the leaves and divide them. If you have made a fire, put the banana leaf after leaf over the fire and see how the leaf change its texture from dull to shiny. The banana leaves have wax in it and the texture changes before your eyes. Be careful, the stems of the leaves have also sap on them. If you have some bamboo furniture, you can make them shiny by wiping them with banana leaves. You can also use the leaves to make the wooden floor shiny without using the paraffin floor wax. For aspiring print artists, you can use the stem of the banana leaf as your tool to make watercolor prints.

You see a heart shaped fruit dangling on the tree plant. It really looks like a heart, violet in color. Inside are mini-bananas. You are hungry and no real bananas around, just this heart. I give you an idea. If you cut the heart off the banana plant using the Victorinox Swiss Army knife, you can cook it like an artichoke but peel off 2 or 3 hard coverings. Where do you get some salt? The ocean is salty enough. Get a small amount of water from the ocean and let the water evaporate. The sediment will be edible coarse white salt.

If you are in the city of Manila (e.g.), you can cut the heart into thin slices. Saute garlic and onions in oil, add the sliced banana heart, stir for a while and add some coconut milk and let it simmer until well cooked. Add also some green leafy vegetables because it looks boring if there is no green stuff in your food. Add salt and pepper or a whole chili pepper for a mild spicy taste. You can eat it with cooked rice but without the chili.

But, you are still in the jungle looking for bananas to eat! If only the macaque monkeys would tell you where the bananas are, you would appreciate it very much. Up on the trees, swinging from one branch to another using the lianas, they are all watching your moves. Like in a zoo, you are now the monkey they are gaping at.

Finally, you find some bananas, lots of them. The bananas you found are fat, thick bananas and some are midget finger-like bananas. Would you ever eat them? Of course, you should. There are plenty of various kinds of bananas: green bananas, yellow bananas, big and small, thick and thin, long and short..

But you only know Chiquita bananas or Del Monte bananas from the Supermarket. The small, short , thin yellow bananas are called finger bananas. They really look like spread fingers. Once ripe, they are sweet and good to eat. When still green, the thick bananas (we call it Saba) with its peel can be cooked in water until done. When it has cooled off, peel them off, cut them into pieces and put them into the mixer adding milk little by little or cream or even ice cream and sugar. It is very tasty as a dessert. Or, you can pound the cooked bananas in a wooden mortar and pestle until you get a massy cake. Take it out and flatten it with a rolling pin. Cut into squares and sprinkle with powder sugar if available. You can try this variation also. Cut the ripe bananas into slices and boil in coconut milk. Put some sugar and some sago pearls. You can eat it as an afternoon snack.

The thick bananas when ripe become yellow also. You can cut them into halves and roll them over in crystal sugar but not much. Wrap them in rice paper and fry in vegetable oil until brown. We call it "Turon". The sugar caramel won't taste bitter if you use low heat. You can also put some slices of Jackfruit with the banana half and wrap them together tightly before frying. Also, you can make some banana ques using bamboo sticks. Sprinkle the Q's with sugar and fry in hot oil until brown. The bananas can also be cut into chips and desiccated. You have to have 32 original teeth to eat the chips. Chips are very hard to chew, crunchy but no, thanks.

In the western world, bananas can be used for cup cakes or fruit cakes. Ice cream Sundae or plain milk shake with bananas is one of my favorites. First, bananas will be pureed in the mixer and then ice cream will be added to it and candied cherry on top of the whipped cream . It you are suffering from constipation, this is good for you. . Everyone knows Banana Split. You order a Banana Split ice cream and sometimes, you have to look for the banana under a mound full of ice cream and whipped cream.

I almost forgot to tell you that after a heavy rainfall with thunder and lightning, believe me, the mushrooms sprout out of the banana roots. The mushrooms are edible and you can add it (after cleaning) to fresh grated corn. Soup is sooooo delicious.

You almost covered the whole island with stomach full of bananas. Some are in your backpack. Then, upon reaching the clearing, you hear a familiar noise, people laughing, Jamaica drums playing, Bartender mixing cocktails and you are sweating like hell. You never got away and you were just stranded in the other side of the holiday resort island.

As for how to find oil in the jungle, you have to look for an old dried coconut , but wait...this might be my next lens - nuts over coconuts? Just one question before you go, have you ever seen a pink banana (Musa Velutina) in your life? So, here it is...