momoese

I stumbled accross this web page and thought I'd share. It shows in detail how to make some Philipine dishes using the buds and male flowers. I'm going to have to give this a try! At Whole Foods they sell plantain buds which is what you need for cooking.

http://lafang.mikemina.com/index.php...-coconut-milk/

AnnaJW

Thanks for posting that link Mitchel. I've always wanted to try a recipe like that.

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JoeReal

Not all banana cultivar blossoms are pleasant. Some have extremely high oxalic acid content. The plantain types have generally good blossom for cooking while the cavendish types are on the more challenging side to eat.

I have posted a recipe eons ago when this forum was still starting.

Chironex

Awesome recipe page! Thanks much.

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Scot

island cassie

Good timing Mitchell - I have a plantain-type bud about to become available and was wondering what to do with it.

Thanks Cassie

harveyc

Rats, I just was searching here because I just removed the buds from my Dwarf Brazilian and two unknown varieties (one is possibly Raja Puri), but I may not bother after reading Joe's comment. Don't know that I need to take time to work with something that is probably "challenging" to swallow!

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chong

Harvey,
Don't throw those buds away. Some or all of them may be OK. Why not try each to see if either or both may be palatable.

Here's what to do: Peel each "heart" (that's what we call them), petal by petal until you come to a petal that is tender (breaks or tears easily). At this point the remaining bud will be very light colored. Make sure each variety is identified with pertinent names, so that you can distinguish them later on, i.e., which is palatable and which isn't.

Slice 2 or 3 thin slices (1/8" crosswise) of each and place in separate marked bowls or cups. Fill each container with enough water to completely cover the slices. Add a third of a teaspoon of salt and let it dissolve, and let them soak in the brine for at least an hour (the longer the better). Rinse the slices thoroughly, then boil for a couple of minutes (just like cooking any other leafy vegetable). Remove from the water, let it cool a little, then take the taste test. You will now have identified which is good and which isn't. Don't worry, none of them is toxic. The bad ones are just bitter. The good ones taste like nutty, tender, artichoke hearts.

The heart of the Butuan (M. Balbisiana) is considered the best tasting in the Philippines, for cooking, or even pickling.

momoese

Oh oh, looks like I'll be on a late night mission here soon! I have a stand of Balbisiana that has grown over the sidewalk from a rental house at the end of my street. It's been there forever so I know the current occupant won't really care if take them seeing how he didn't plant them and does nothing to care for them.

chong

If you do it at night, you may not have to wear a mask! LOL

momoese

Mask or not, walking down the street with a large machete might scare some people! Maybe I'll talk to the renter first.

chong

Sounds like a great idea!

ArtNut

Has anyone had problems with the sap? The recipes seem to idicate that prep will give you black and sticky hands. What about your cutting board? I know banana say won't come out of clothes.
Is soaking in salt water necessary?
Can I just chop up the whole tender parts and steam like cabbage?

lorax

I had problems with the sap the first time, and after that, I set the flower cut-part-down on a rack outside until it stopped bleeding.

It won't come out of clothes, it will really stick to plastic boards, it also sticks to wooden ones, and your hands, and can be removed with turpentine. Just like other stiff, non-water-soluble organic glues.

And yes, the salt-water thing is necessary. It neutralizes the oxalic acid content and improves the flavour of the vegetable. I didn't do it the first time I ate a bud, and it was horrible.

Jimzone7

Chong: Sound like a great way to test for taste, before going to alot of work preparing a "banana heart" dish.
Does this work for edible bananas only? I'm curious about basjoo, one of mine flowered this past month and my area will have a freeze real soon. Anything I can do to justify cutting it down will make that cut easier to take.
Jim

chong

Hello Jim,
As a matter of fact, the preferred banana flower for cooking in the Philippines is the one from a seeded variety called "Butuhan", which literally translates to "seeded". They are more expensive if harvested before the bud opens and have produced fruit. So, if your Basjoo has a bloom and you are wondering if you can harvest the flower, you may be in a better shape to harvest it now. If there are some fruits, you can leave them on the plant, and see if they'll ripen in the summer. That's assuming that you've protected it it sufficiently so that it goes into a slow growth mode in the winter.

According to Asaccom, a member here, Basjoo fruits are sweet, although quite seeded. The Butuhan is not quite as seeded as the Basjoo. The Butuhan is only about 25% seeds. Gabe says that Butuhan is M. Balbisiana, but I have seen some pictures of Balbisiana and they are heavily seeded. If I ever get any fruit from the Balbisiana that I bought from Gabe, I will be able to determine if it is the same as the Butuhan.

I think the term "edible banana" is quite subjectively applied to bananas. E.g., the Butuhan fruit is eaten out of hand in the Philippines. It doesn't have to be cooked, but sometimes, half ripe fruits are placed over charcoal to cook them. Except for the flower, Butuhan fruit is seldom seen in the marketplace. They are 10 to 12 inches long and around 2 inches in diameter. The fact that they are seeded does not make them inedible, in the sense that they are not toxic. I would consider bananas that taste bitter, and/or "putrid", for lack of a better word, inedible.

Chong

Banana Joe

great page, thanks for sharing

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Peter

ArtNut

That is a detailed description. Thanks.
Art Nut

Chironex

Here is a recipe with 'How To' instructions for Banana Flower Salad. Looks delicious, now all I need are some flowers!!!
Ganesh Mani Pradhan & Son The Nursery

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Scot