Green Banana Biomass
Did you know that banana cultivation is the fourth most important in the world?! Banana feeds every day 400 million people in 100 countries worldwide!
But the star of this post is the unripe banana and the puree made with it cooked, called green banana biomass, my current culinary passion.
The green banana biomass was discovered by the Brazilian Heloisa de Freitas Valle at the time all the food of her farm had being stolen and she decided to prepare a soup with the only ingredient she found: one green banana bunch. And it worked!
From then she decided to study deeply her discovery and she wrote the book "Yes, nós temos bananas" (means "Yes, we have bananas"), in partnership with the journalist and historian Marcia Mascarenhas Camargos, which aims to rescue the importance of this nutritious fruit in Brazil and in the world. The book also contains many recipes and detailed information about the biomass.
In the culinary aspect, biomass has a unique texture that provides creaminess and structure to the dish, in addition to increase the volume of it, but not changing its taste.
About health, because of the great quantity of resistant starch biomass has, the benefits of its consumption are numerous: prebiotic and probiotic action that balances the flora and protects the intestinal health, assists in the absorption of nutrients, protects against colorectal cancer and treats diarrhea and constipation. It also has regulatory action of satiety and of the amount of blood sugar. And to complete, it is rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, and iodine.
Green Banana Biomass Recipe
Vegan, gluten and lactose free.
Serves: 1kg of banana (weight with the peel) makes approximately 800ml of biomass Difficulty: medium Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Green bananas (as the one of the picture) Boiling water (if necessary)
Directions
Using a pressure cooker, boil enough water to cover the bananas, but you won't put the bananas yet;
Cut the bananas from the bunch taking care not to expose the pulp;
Wash them under running water and with soap;
Place the bananas in the pressure cooker with the already boiling water;
Cover and return to the fire;
After the pan begin to sizzle, lower the heat and cook for 8 minutes;
Turn off the heat and let the steam get out naturally. Do not want to anticipate the process manually releasing the steam;
Open the pot and remove a banana at a time, leaving the other ones inside the hot water;
Remove the peel and blend immediately the pulp using a blender or a food processor with the minimum possible of hot clean water;
The mixture must be creamy and homogeneous. It's ready!
Tips
If you have a good blender, avoid putting water to blend;
The biomass without water takes 3 to 4 months in the freezer. And the one mixed with water take 2 months frozen;
It is essential that the bananas get processed when are still hot;
I like to store the biomass in the freezer in ice molds;
To use the frozen biomass, let it melt with some liquid in the heat and put in a blender to mix;
Here on the blog we will prepare many recipes with biomass such as sweet and savory creams.
Ayurveda
This is a functional food for people of all doshas. It is cold and heavy.
Vata: this is a nutritious food and appropriate in the treatment of constipation. Consume in small quantities in hot / warm temperature and with digestive spices;
Pitta: good in the treatment of diarrhea and to combat stomach acidity;
Kapha: good in treatments to decrease body fat. Consume in small quantities in hot / warm temperature with spicy and digestive spices.
Bibliography
Valle, Heloisa de Freitas; Camargo, Marcia. Yes, nós temos bananas: histórias e receitas com biomassa de banana verde. 3. ed. São Paulo: Ed. Senac São Paulo, 2011.