Banana: Simple Facts And Uses You Want To Know
Banana is an edible fruit and technically classified as a berry.
In Nigeria, bananas are one of the easy to find fruits in any fruit store.
Bananas are tropical crops and are grown in tropical regions like Africa, Asia and Central and South America.
This crop is grown in over 100 countries across the world
According to statistics India is the largest producer of bananas in the world as of 2022,
With Nigeria coming fourth on the list, producing over 8 million tonnes of banana yearly. (knoema)
Description
Banana is a long and slightly curved fruit often referred to as fingers.
It has a soft white flesh and rind that covers the flesh.
The rind colour can vary, the very common colour is green and yellow
It’s green when unripe and turns yellow when ripe
Other varieties have red or purple skin (rind).
The fruit size varies
It has a sweet taste that’s loved by many.
It comes in bunches (single fruits arranged together) attached to a stalk.
Banana In Nigeria
Native banana species have been grown in many parts of Nigeria for a very long period, dating back to ancient times.
They were a staple in their meals.
These banana species in Nigeria, are the “Belle” and “Pisang Awak” varieties.
Through the years new species or varieties have been developed improving the quality and yield.
Some of the new varieties found present in Nigeria are;
- Cavendish
- Grand naine
- Bhie java (banana panya)
- Dwarf cavendish
- East Africa highland
Other varieties across Africa are;
- Feli
- Gold finger
- Lady finger
- Sweet dessert
- Red banana
As of 2022 Nigeria is the 17th largest exporter of banana, (OCE)
Nutritional Information
One medium banana (100g)
| Calories | 89 kcal |
| Water | 74.9 g |
| Protein | 1.1 g |
| Fat | 0.3 g |
| Sugar | 12.2 g |
| Potassium | 358 mg |
| Carbohydrate | 22.8 g |
| Starch | 5.38 g |
| Iron | 0.26 mg |
| Magnesium | 27 mg |
| Phosphorus | 22 mg |
| Sodium | 1 mg |
source : USDA
Uses
For food
Bananas are healthy fruits and eating them regularly is encouraged.
Consumption as Fresh Fruit: it’s a popular quick and healthful snack.
They are eaten alone or alongside with other foods
An example is serving it with roasted groundnut.
The fruit can be added to meals like pap (akamu) and oat porridge.
Smoothies: this fruit is a popular ingredient in most smoothie recipes.
Frying: it’s used to make banana chips, pancakes, mosa, puff puff.
Baking: it’s used as an ingredient when baking. An example is banana bread, fruit cake.
See this Tigernut banana bread recipe
Ice cream: it’s used in making ice cream in some recipes.
Fruit salad: it can be one of the ingredients in a fruit salad recipe.
Baby Food: Because of their inherent sweetness, tender texture, and taste, mashed bananas are frequently served to babies as one of their first solid meals.
For Fertilizer
Garden Fertilizer: Gardeners can use composted peels as organic fertilizer.
Hope this article was helpful?
