BANANA

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/

Thursday, 15 January 2009

Musa Acuminata Colla - The Banana

A banana as everyone knows, is a slender thick skinned edible fruit which varies in different sizes and colors. The word 'banan' is Arabic for finger. They are grown in Latin and South America, India, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras, Panama and Guatemala. India is by far the largest world producer of bananas, growing 16.5 million tonnes in 2002, followed by Brazil which produced 6.5 million tonnes of bananas in 2002. Over 96% of American households purchase bananas at least once each month. There are more than 500 varieties of banana in the world.

There are Bananas of different colors such as:

Green [good for strength and impotency especially in males],

Yellow [edible fruit bananas],

Red [rich in carotene],

Baby yellow bananas; also known as pisang susa [which are known for their sweetness] and are edible when they ripe completely as the starch in it is converted to sugars such as sucrose, fructose and glucose. Raw bananas [green and 20-30 cm long] are also used for cooking and are even fried. Children love to eat fried chips made out of Bananas. Banana flowers [Known as Bond in Vasai] are also used for cooking, especially in India. Also numerous desserts have been prepared using this fruit, which simply add to delicacies of all time. A smoothie made from bananas along with curd simply tastes fabulous. Besides that Rajles [wild form of Banana found in Vasai] is used by East Indian people as a coolant for insect bites and also in sweet dishes made from coconut milk and jaggery.

Banana plant has leaves of about 4 x 1 m which are used as biodegradable plates in south India, especially during wedding.

What are the medicinal uses of Bananas?

Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber. One banana has 76gm% of water, 10mg% of the vitamin C, 0.50gm% of the potassium, 20gm% of sugar and 1.2gm% of protein and 3gm%of the dietary fiber needed each day for good health. The vitamin C in bananas helps your body to heal and defend against infections. Vitamin C also is valuable in the absorption of iron, synthesis of connective tissue, and blood formation. High in iron, bananas can increase the production of hemoglobin in the blood and help in cases of anemia. Due to presence of fiber, bananas also ensure that the bowel functioning is normal and thus helps in clearing out constipation.

The good source of potassium from bananas is helpful for your body to maintain the fluid balance in blood and tissue cells as well as help in improving intellectual ability of an individual. Potassium is also an essential mineral for protein synthesis and the building of muscle because it stimulates nerve impulses for muscle contraction.

Research suggests that a diet high in potassium may reduce the risk of hypertension and stroke. Because bananas are sodium-free and very rich in potassium, they can be eaten as part of a diet to reduce the risk of high blood pressure. Bananas have no fat, cholesterol or sodium. According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine' eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%.

They also contain a rich supply of vitamin B6, providing 20% of the Recommended Daily Allowance of B6. Vitamin B6 is significant in the synthesis of antibodies in the immune system. It also helps in protein metabolism, red blood cell formation and functioning of the central nervous system.B vitamins help in relieving stress of the nervous system as they send oxygen supply to the brain.

Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen and body fluids burned during exercise and gives much strength to an individual. Bananas contain more digestible carbohydrates than any other fruit. The advantage is that the body burns off calories from carbohydrates more quickly and easily than calories from protein or fat.

They are used against intestinal disorders and because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is one of the most important fruit that can be eaten in over-chronic ulcer cases as it is an antacid which neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation of the stomach. They are also used in patients suffering from heart-burns.

BRUNO LOPES is an MSc-2 student of T.N.Medical College and B.Y.L.Nair Charitable Hospital [MUMBAI UNIVERSITY] and likes to do research on Herbs and fruits and study their medicinal properties. He has graduated in Microbiology and Biochemistry[co-curricular honors in microbiology] from ST.XAVIERS COLLEGE, Mumbai [MUMBAI UNIVERSITY]. Currently he is researching on his dissertation topic, 'Role of Sodium potassium ATPase,Glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin in Diabetes mellitus' as a part of MSc-2.

His aim in life is to do something for betterment of mankind which he describes by a simple adage, which is,''Knowledge is education for oneself but wisdom for the sake of others'' His interests are Microbiology, Biochemistry, Oncology, Nutrition, Botany, Immunology, Virology and many more. He has a vast knowledege on scientific names of different plants and microbes ofcouse as he had graduated in Microbiology and Biochemistry.

Tuesday, 23 September 2008

banana bob

Compost is a simple, but admired account that is acutely accessible to make. If you accept a garden or flowerbeds you can calmly accomplish admixture to artlessly beget your plants. There are about three altered types of admixture piles. You accept what is alleged a pile, which is absolutely what it sounds like. It's aback you accumulate your composting abstracts and accumulation them up on the ground. You can additionally anatomy a baby cage out of copse or some blazon of fencing. The best way to admixture is to acquirement a composting bin. You can recycle abounding of your domiciliary adulteration items into your admixture pile. About all amoebic bulk is adequate for a admixture pile; you charge both amber and blooming articles for your pile. The amber items which will accommodate tea bags, coffee grinds, admixture and about any added amber amoebic items are affluent in carbon. Blooming abstracts which accommodate aggregate from grass clippings to assistant peels are affluent in nitrogen. You appetite your admixture affluence to accept a adequate calm of carbon and nitrogen. Whatever you do, don't put any protein abstracts like meat into the admixture heap. The protein will rot and account an abominable smell. You can put garden clippings, grass clippings, leaves, kitchen waste, copse ash, anguish needles, and alike egg shells into the admixture pile. Already you accept a adequate accumulation activity you accept to ensure that baptize is conflicting and that the sun will accession the temperature of the pile. Composting is a accustomed activity of breaking bottomward amoebic bulk into a affluent actuality that plants advance on. Micro-organisms, fungi, bacteria, insects, and worms will eat up the alone adulteration and about-face it into an accomplished amoebic fertilizer for your garden or annual beds. This is the aloft activity that happens every year aback leaves abatement to the arena and boring decompose. All you are accomplishing is dispatch up the process. Admixture works best aback the temperature of the accumulation is aloft 100 degrees and beneath 140 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature abounding seeds and bad items for the admixture accumulation will die in beneath than a division of an hour. If you chop up the items application a backyard mower it makes for abounding faster composting. If you aloof accumulation up all the amoebic bulk and leave it could booty up to a year to accept adequate compost, but if you administer it anxiously you can accept admixture in as little as a month. By managing the admixture you accept to ensure that the temperature is hot and there is a adequate akin of nitrogen and carbon. If you feel the accumulation and it is warmer than the temperature alfresco afresh it's accomplishing its job, if not afresh you charge add added nitrogen abstracts such as grass clippings or manure. You additionally charge ensure that the accumulation stays moist; it needs baptize to appropriately decay. The accumulation should consistently accept a little moisture, about as abounding as a afraid out towel. Not alone is this accomplished fertilizer for your garden, but it additionally helps cut bottomward on wastes at the association acreage fill. And with added and added adulteration casework abnegation to booty grass clippings, leaves, and timberline limbs this is an accomplished way to abandon of those materials. Composting is not alone adequate for your garden, it's adequate for the association and can be a fun process. It's accurate to watch attributes at assignment and see how we accept begin bureau to acceleration up the accustomed process. Happy composting!