Culinary Skills - Fruits
 
Family: Tropical

Lady Finger or Baby Banana (Musa nana)

Country of Origin:


Native to the Tropics, all of the bananas come shipped from the Caribbean, Mexico, and Latin America

 

Peak Season:

Year Round
Available year round.

Usage:

Baby Bananas are also known as lady finger bananas. Baby Bananas are
one of the most popular specialty fruits. Lady Fingers are small bananas with sweet flavor  and a very thin, bright yellow skin  when ripe. Gold Fingers is a new variety of larger Lady Finger  bananas that the flesh won't darken. It is ideal for fruit salads. Ideal for banana splits, also try
Baby Bananas in refreshing shakes and exotic drinks. They look great on a fruit platter, are delicious in curries, fritters and baked goods, and are perfect for a child-sized snack. Baby Bananas are also an excellent
source of Potassium and Iron. Baby Bananas should be stored between 56 and 60 degrees F at 85% RH, and when ripened at 56 to 65 degrees F. Bananas should never be stored next to other fruits such as apples, or vegetables such as lettuce, as they give off large quantities of ethylene gas. 

Two baby banana equals one cup of sliced banana. Bananas are easily damaged by improper storage...do not chill bananas as this will cause the skin to turn gray and the fruit to turn brown and mushy.

Here is a great list of banana recipes from the folks at Turbana:
http://www.turbana.com/recipes.htm

Want to go to the Banana Museum? follow this link.
http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/1799/

Here are a couple of more Banana sites:
http://www.comevisit.com/chuckali/banana.htm


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Metropolitan Community College
Web Editor:   Tina Powers
tpowers@metropo.mccneb.edu
Last Edited: 01/11/02