Bananas are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia and Australia. Banana plants are of the family Musaceae and are cultivated mostly for their fruit, and sometimes for the production of fiber and as ornamental plants. Bananas are tall, upright, and fairly sturdy. They are often mistaken for trees, however they are not. They grow in hanging clusters of about 20 fruit known as a bunch or banana stem. They are 2 specific varieties that are well known and they are the green banana and the plantain which is usually cooked first hand. They also come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple and red. Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, giving the body a boost of energy. Bananas are also a valuable source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium. Vitamin B6, also referred to as B complex is a water-soluble vitamin. It helps the body to convert carbohydrates into glucose (sugar), which is "burned" to produce energy. They also help metabolize fats and protein and play an important role in maintaining muscle tone in the gastrointestinal tract and promoting the health of the nervous system, skin, hair, eyes, mouth, and liver. The most widely known vitamin is vitamin c. Again, a water soluble vitamin that is essential for the production of bones and connective tissue. This vitamin also helps with the absorption of iron. It is also an antioxidant, meaning it bonds with free radicals in the body that may damage cells like cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature aging. Potassium chloride (KCl) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. Potassium is a natural diuretic that helps your body excrete water and sodium, thus promoting healthy cardiovascular health and regulating water balance. It also plays a role in nerve cell function, muscle growth and contractions, and protein synthesis.
Bananas are native to the tropics of Southeast Asia and Australia. Banana plants are cultivated Musaceae family and are mostly of fruit, sometimes for the production of fiber and ornamental plants. Banana tall, straight and strong to some extent. They are often wrong tree, but it is not.
It grows in hanging clusters of about 20 known as fruit or a few banana stem. 2 specific items they are known and they are green bananas and plantains, which are usually the first point cooked. It also comes in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple and red.
Bananas contain three natural sugars - Sucrose, Fructose and glucose combined with fiber, giving the body a boost of energy. Bananas are also a valuable source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium.
Vitamin B6, also referred to as compound B is water-soluble vitamin. It helps the body to convert carbohydrates into glucose (sugar), which is "burned" for energy production. It also helps metabolize fats and proteins play an important role in maintaining muscle tone in the digestive system, and promoting the health of the nervous system, skin, hair, eyes, mouth and liver.
More widely known vitamin is vitamin C. Once again, that the water-soluble vitamin is essential for the production of bone and connective tissue. Vitamin A also helps with the absorption of iron. It is also antioxidant, which means that they bond with free radicals in the body that can damage cells, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and premature aging.
Potassium chloride (KCl) is pressing a metal halide composed of potassium and chlorine. Potassium is a diuretic, normally help your body excrete water and sodium, thus promoting the health of the cardiovascular health and the organization of water balance. It also plays a role in neuronal function, muscle contraction and growth, protein synthesis.
Banana snack industry goes stale
Not so long ago, the Central Java town of Majenang was famous for being the home of sale pisang, a unique snack made with bananas, but recently the market changed and the local snack industry faded to a fraction of its former success.
Majenang, one of 23 districts in Cilacap regency in the far west of the province - bordering with Banjar and Ciamis regencies in West Java - has about 30 small factories producing the snack.
Before the 1998 economic crisis, there were around 100 such producers, leading Cilacap administration to come up with the idea of making the snack the icon of Majenang.
But with the crisis, the plan hit snags and many cottage industries were forced out of business. More than a decade later, the situation has yet to improve.
"Before the crisis I could sell 2 or 3 tons of fried banana sweets to Jakarta. But things are difficult now," Yayat, a 61-year-old sale pisang business owner, told The Jakarta Post in Majenang.
Today, Yayat produces only about 200 kilograms of sale pisang a month, and 99 percent of this is sold in Majenang. The snacks are sold in 250-gram packages, each costing around Rp 25,000 (US$2).
Another snack producer, Juremi, said that before the crisis she could send 2 tons of sale pisang to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya each month.
"Now we only sell sale pisang for the local market," the 60-year-old said.
Juremi said most of the snack producers were struggling to survive.
"What's important is that business survives. If there are buyers in the city, that's enough. Sometimes we get an order from outside the city, but this is unreliable," she said.
"Once, a distributor from outside the city wanted to place an order, but the price he offered was too low to cover our production costs. Rather than suffering losses, we preferred not to take it."
Making sale pisang does not take long. Ripe bananas are cut into slices and dried in the sun.
"If the sun is bright, the bananas will dry out in two days. But in a rainy season like this, it takes about four days," Juremi said.
The dried bananas are then smeared with flour and deep-fried. After being drained, the banana chips are ready to be packaged and sold.
The sale pisang business has supported many, including farmers and traders who sell raw bananas to cottage industries in Majenang, as well as banana snack makers such as Juremi and Yayat, and the vendors.
Majenang district head, Heru Susedyo, said he was aware of the stagnant business situation.
"Sale pisang was once so popular that the Cilacap administration planned to make it the icon of Majenang city, but the plan could not be realized because sales keep decreasing."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/06/
Sunday 14 December 2008
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