BANANASnow: BANANA FOOD & FIBRE

Current Facts Banana stems are botanically a part of the Musa genus and are actually a flower stalk of a large, herbaceous plant belonging to the Musaceae family. All parts of the banana plant are edible, and though the fruits are the most commonly consumed portion of the plant, the leaves and stalks are also used for a variety of culinary applications in Asia. Banana stems are predominately utilized in South Indian cuisine, favored for its mild flavor, ability to complement many different spices, crisp texture, and high nutritional properties. ....... Nutritional Value Banana stems are high in fiber and can aid in the treatment of ulcers or an acidic stomach. Like the fruit, Banana stems are also very high in potassium and vitamin B6, which together benefit the muscles and the body’s production of hemoglobin and insulin. .... LINK

Banana Stems – หยวกกล้วย – are considered a vegetable in Thai cuisine. They are available everyday at wet markets and open-air-markets if you don’t have your own banana tree growing in your backyard or can’t get them from the nearby forest. Actually, the banana tree is not a tree at all. It is a giant herbaceous plant, with large leaves that closely roll up one over the other. Together they look like a trunk, but they are leaves from underground stems and they form only an “apparent trunk.“

Villagers in Thailand and many countries in South and Southeast Asia consider the tender core of the banana stems, the apparent trunk, a valuable nutritious vegetable.

In Thai we call them, หยวกกล้วย – Yuak Kluey – Banana Stems. Each leaf can be peeled off. As you get closed to the center, you will find the most tender leave.

Just like corn is used in the United States for both human and animal food, all parts of the banana plant—leaves, banana, banana skin, and roots—have minerals, vitamins, and fat.

Thai farmers feed all parts of the banana to their pigs and farm animals. When I was in high school I had a pair of piglets. On the weekends I chopped down banana stems, cooked them with broken rice, and let them stew into a porridge before feeding them to the pigs. Farmers also mix chopped banana stems with other grasses during dry season for cows, goats and cattle —there are plenty of bananas in Southeast Asia.

Banana stems are one-third edible vegetation and two-thirds water, but have a good amount of protein and fat plus minerals and vitamins. They are a good source of fiber, potassium, phosphorus, B6 and calcium, as good as the banana fruit itself. The stems are considered food in everyday cooking in Asia and Southeast Asia. ... READ MORE HERE