Banana trees are everywhere here in gardens, growing on wasteland, by the side of the road everywhere… Sometimes I can’t even give them away…
They can be frozen, used in fruit shakes and smoothies or banana bread…Banana pancakes are very popular here and we have a little stall just down the road from us.
The kids love them but they are too sweet for me and an occasional treat for them as they pour condensed milk all over them.
You will also see BBQ’S by the side of the road grilling them and serving with some sweet syrup or fried bananas, banana balls which are one of my favourites when I go to market but you name it you can get the banana any which way…
They range from tiny little bananas to fair sized one not sold by the kilo as in western countries but by the hand as bananas are freely available here and very prolific crops.
The red banana I was given as a gift by one of my neighbours they are very nice and so pretty… it has a balanced sweet taste and can be used as a cooking banana even though it isn’t plantain but we just enjoyed eating them just as they were.
The leaves of the red banana, however, cannot be used to cook, wrap or serve food on. The red banana is not so popular as other bananas as it is harder to grow they also require more water and the skins tend to crack so I think I got a bit of a treat as I hadn’t seen them before. and the skins on these were lovely and smooth so they obviously were well watered.
More so unusual because when I was showing a friend she told me that some red bananas sold as a sweet dish here are not a special variety that is naturally red like mine but rather, the bananas are soaked in red coloured hydrolyzed lime water, made with a lime powder obtained from fossilized shells dissolved in water. The soaking hardens the bananas so that they don’t fall apart when later boiled in syrup. These “Red ” bananas may be eaten on their own or served in sweetened coconut milk.
That was an interesting piece of info not sure if I would like to eat them but I will certainly be keeping my eyes out and have asked my friend to get me some if she sees them…I will now be investigating this fossilized shells they use.
You learn something every day don’t you??? Have you seen this dessert or tried it???
Healthwise the red banana is high on potassium and is alkaline in nature. Since it is red in colour, it has a high content of anthocyanin which acts like an antioxidant. It is also high on fibre and vitamin C.
Even though the basic constitutes of all varieties of bananas are the same, the red bananas are high in all the vitamins and minerals and is a great antioxidant-rich food.
Just a little tip… I was told that Red bananas are great for your skin when made into a paste… To prepare an easy and effective face mask mix powered oats, mashed red banana and few drops of honey to make a paste. Apply it on your face an let it dry and then wash it off.
Not only do they make a great face mask but they are good for your hair…
You can mash the banana with coconut, sesame or almond oil to moisturize your hair and to relieve problems like dandruff, hair fall and dry hair. Add few teaspoons of lemon in the mask and apply it all over your hair. Leave it on for 30 minutes and then wash off for bouncy and shiny hair.
I hope you enjoyed this post about my gift of red bananas…
If you did please hit the share buttons …xxx
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Thank you for reading and have a lovely weekend x
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Very interesting! I’ve never heard of either sort of red banana, nor have I seen them in my area! Too bad, that skincare sounds good! 😊
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Yes, it does and they are not common here I was just lucky to be given some .. 🙂
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GREAT POST! 👌
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Thank you 🙂
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I always learn something new here Carol. Thanks for the tips. ❤
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You are very welcome, Debby… I found some cool things yesterday which I will share..I love finding new fruits and veggies..Have a lovely weekend 🙂 xx
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Looking forward my friend. 🙂 xx
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Red Bananas…New fr me. Never seen it before…Thanks for the share…
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A first for me as well, Reena they are not very common and I was lucky to be given them…Have a lovely weekend 🙂
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Thanks Carol.
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I have never heard of red bananas before, Carol.
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Reblogged this on Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life and commented:
It was Fruity Friday with Carol Taylor and this week a new one for me.. Red Bananas… just as versatile as yellow but with a few more antioxidants thrown in… go bananas….
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Thank you, Sally for the reblog 🙂 xxx
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I never knew! Totally learned something today.
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I never knew until I was given some which is what I love about living here I discover so many fruits and veggies I never knew existed or that you could eat… Thank you for popping by 🙂 x
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And you are teaching people like me.
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Wait until you see what I found yesterday..so cool ..Have a lovely weekend 🙂 x
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Ahh very exciting! Looking forward to it😊
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Interesting, I’ve never had a red nana before! Not sure I like the idea of mixing them with something like coconut milk but I’d certainly like to try one on its own! 🙂
Caz x
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No, I prefer them as they are and not in coconut milk I hope you get to try one though they are nice bananas 🙂
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Red bananas. In my home place, they say they have medicinal value and yes, they are not so widely available as the yellow ones- they are called kadali pazham in our local parlance.
Do you have plantains too ?
Susie
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Yes, we do Suzie 🙂
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Lovely post! I’ve never had a red banana though I do love me some regular bananas 😉 it’s my fav cake flavour xoox
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A first for me, Linda and I was lucky to be given some I will now be looking out for some more 🙂
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I’ll be looking for them too 🙂
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I hope you find some 🙂 x
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That is so interesting to learn that red bananas exist! It is a bit scary about the dye though…
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Yes, it is the red ones I had were kotcha but the ones which are often used are dyed. So yes scary
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