When I purchased this 12 acre farm almost two decades ago it came with a coffee plantation. As is often the case in Costa Rica it also had a few banana plants scattered throughout the plantation. These ubiquitous bananas are not used much. Some are fed to pigs or cows and occasionally somebody cuts a leaf to wrap tamales. The nicest bunches are taken to market but there is more than enough to meet local demand. I didn’t know this. Having just come from a Canadian winter, I thought they were wonderful and wanted more. Asking around I found the only way to propagate the banana was to replant suckers. It worked. I just kept planting. But this got me wondering. How would this plant get along without me?
So, I did some research
The banana we eat is seedless, sexless and sterile. It wasn’t always this way. It used to reproduce in the normal messy sexual way but the banana got lazy, or smart, depending on your perspective. It tied its fortunes to us. Herein lies its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.
It is an arrangement. The banana provides a food we like and we in turn ensure that it survives and moves into new territory. However, without our help it is unable to move or reproduce and would soon die out. Moreover, because each sucker we transplant is identical to the mother plant it has little genetic variation and is therefore vulnerable to disease. We humans do the work that sexually reproducing plants normally do for themselves – breed new varieties that are less susceptible to the most recent disease or come up with chemical defenses (plants are amazing chemical factories).
The edible banana started its journey in Southeast Asia 5 or 10 thousand years ago when humans began transplanting suckers from the tastiest plants. Slowly, at first, the now seedless banana began to make its way around the world (there are probably seedy relatives still hanging out in some Malaysian jungle but nobody talks about them). The banana had crossed India by about the 3rd century BC and over the next few hundred years made its way to the Middle East and Africa. Moving any further north was out of the question for this tropical plant. Long distance export of any perishable crop was not possible with the slow transportation available at that time so Europeans didn’t even know it existed. A few decades after Columbus stumbled onto the New World, the banana sailed from Africa to the Americas. This intrepid fruit made an equally impressive eastward journey around the Pacific getting at least as far as the Hawaiian Islands.
Bananas really hit the big time in the late 1800’s when those grown in the tropical regions of the Americas were exported into the North American market. The banana became such an important export that it dominated politics of many Latin American countries in the first half of the 20th century. Governments that provided favorable terms for the banana companies were supported and governments that did not, were replaced. The interests of the people took second place to that of the banana – hence the expression “banana republic”.
It isn’t hard to understand why the banana became such an important commodity. Under that attractive yellow packaging it is just bursting with flavor and nutrients. Packed with B vitamins, vitamin C, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and tryptophan it is considered to be helpful in cases of depression, high blood pressure, heartburn, stress and even hangovers. The animals that share with us (cows, horses, dogs, raccoons, squirrels, birds and monkeys) all gravitate to bananas. They know instinctively that this is good food. If bananas were rare and hard to grow they would be treasured. However, they are common and inexpensive. Herein lies my problem.
What to do with my bananas
With all the replanting I did in my first few years, I have more than we can possibly use. There are about five different kinds of bananas growing on the farm but most are an early variation of the Cavendish and are wonderfully sweet and flavorful. Many people, even those accustomed to fresh locally grown bananas, tell me that these are the best they have ever eaten. I don’t take credit for the quality. My climate and good organic soil are just ideal for bananas.
A few times each week Walter or I wander into the coffee/banana plantation with the volunteers to hunt for the perfect bunch. We often come back with half a dozen. We hang them in cages where the dogs, squirrels, birds and other banana loving beasties can’t get at them. These cages are in the shade so the bananas ripen slowly, enhancing the flavors. Most of the time they are full.
We eat as many as we can. We make smoothies. We cook green bananas into stews (tastes a bit like a fruity potato). We make ice cream. We put some in the bird feeders and leave some lying around so the dogs can help themselves. They treat bananas like dessert and have discovered their own ways to peel them. We sell or give some to friends but still can’t even begin to use the bounty we have. In Costa Rica, where bananas grow easily, the price is so low it is hardly worth taking them to market.
I’m working on ways to preserve and add value to the excess bananas
I dry them. With gentle pressure applied to the end of the banana it splits lengthwise into three sections just the right thickness for drying. I soak these strips in the juice of the sour mandarin and then put them into the solar dryer. The mandarin preserves the color of the banana during the drying process and adds a nice sour bite that counters the sweetness of the dried fruit.
I make power bars. My attempts with both chocolate and coffee power bars have not been entirely successful. The flavors don’t last well (the coffee/banana power bars taste great for the first few days). The ginger and ginger/hot chili power bars on the other hand continue to have a lovely rich flavor even months after I make them. The ginger/banana power bars are great travel food as the ginger helps to settle the stomach on those long tortuous bus trips.
Some of my most recent projects include:
- Banola© Moist and sweet without adding sugar.
- Banana Vinegar I ferment bananas in a bit of water and sugar for a week or more. The longer the fermentation the more acid. The shorter/sweeter fermentations are often good for salad dressing as is. These banana vinegars don’t seem to keep well but I’m working on that.
- Bango Chutney© I’ll let you know when I’ve got a product I like.
I’m making things with the banana not just because I have so much but also because I find it to be an incredible and versatile food. Although I’m coming up with interesting ideas I’m not doing well with follow through. I don’t keep records and sometimes don’t recall exactly what I did the last time. Moreover I am not much interested in marketing and distribution. It would be helpful if someone who is better at organization and promotion would work with me to develop marketable products. I would also be happy to see my Costa Rican neighbors adopt some of these ideas and start a local cottage industry. This could make good use of things that naturally grow well here and bring in a bit of income to the community.
I will continue to do what I most enjoy – experimenting in the gardens and the kitchen.