Entrevista

The banana tree is a lovely sight: sensually soothing, cooling, and inspirational wher- ever it grows. You will see banana trees in local conservatories in a city near you, or do as I did and request one as a gift to enjoy up close and personal. Banana trees live just fine indoors and are not fussy about water. They need about four hours of light per day. Of course, those of you who live in tropical regions know all about the banana’s gift to the garden. Indoors or out, the banana takes us back through space and time to our ancestral roots.

Frozen Banana

The frozen banana is the quintessential ingredient for smoothies and frozen drinks. It is also a wholesome, low- calorie replacement for ice cream, or can simply be a cooling snack. What

could be easier? Peel the banana, cut it in half, and put the two halves in the freezer in a small freezer bag. Freeze until solid. Use as a delicious addition to smoothies or just eat them as is.

Grilled Banana

Place a firm (just ripe) banana on the grill with the skin intact. Turn with tongs until all sides are deep brown. Cut open and scoop out the roasted banana and place it on a dessert plate.

Add a touch of cold whipped cream, with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg for contrasting tem- peratures, colors, and flavors. Eat immediately.

Plantain

The plantain (Musa paradisiaca) is native to tropical Asia and was probably intro- duced to sub-Saharan Africa through Egypt. Plantains are not cultivated in East Africa, but they grow well there naturally. Beloved by Ghanaians, the plantain is cultivated in its forests and used as a staple food. In Ghana, there are twenty-one varieties in three main groups: apantu, apem, and an intermediary type between these two. Plantains are eaten in just about every imaginable way: boiled, eaten when unripe as ampesi or pounded into fufu, sometimes mixed with cassava. They are roasted and served with peanut butter, called groundnut, occasionally unripe but mostly ripened.

Fried ripe plantain is a favorite dish served with bean stew.

Unripe plantains are fried as chips, or dried and powdered as kokonte. Ripe ones are pounded with corn dough and other ingredients and fried as

tatare or kakro or used alone with porridge or as a sugar substitute.

Plantain stems yield fiber for fishing tackle.

Plaintains stems also make a sponge and towel used by elderly women.

Burned peelings of the fruit yield potash, used in local soapmaking.7

In Puerto Rico, firm green plantain is peeled, roasted, and fried and eaten in place of bread. At the popular Borinquen, or La Palma, restaurants in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago, this sandwich, called jibarito, is a guilty pleasure: garlic- seasoned, deep-fried green plantains with grilled steak or chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. I enjoy it very much as a great occasional treat, replacing wheat flour, which is problematic for me and many others, with fruit. Take it a step further in the health direction by leaving off the mayo and cheese.

In savory dishes, plantain is roasted, fried, and combined with other foods. For the ultra-sweet tooth out there, wait until the plantain turns entirely black, advises my Trinidadian friend Gale, for an unsightly but unbelievable rich taste. Overrip- ened plantains can be cut open, sautéed to a light golden color, and served over waf- fles with whipped cream, advises Michel, a friend from South America.

Flour is also made from plantains in Puerto Rico, by drying and grinding the flesh; this is used to make porridge or gruel. This kind of soul food helps most stom- ach disorders and is easily digested by babies.

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For those unfamiliar, the plantain is similar to a banana, but starchier and less sweet, so they are often eaten cooked and served with savory dishes. The plantain is richer in vitamins and minerals than the banana, containing a daily value (DV) of vitamin C of 28 percent; 19 percent of the DV of B6; 10 percent of the foliate; 20 per-

cent DV of potassium; and 20 percent DV of fiber.8 _{I suggest delving right in. Buy one}

or two and experiment with them. I like them to be slightly soft to the touch through the skin, adding them at the last minute to savory soups, stews, or spicy sautéed cur- ried dishes. Coconut milk accentuates this creaminess.

Fried plantain in place of potatoes for breakfast, or in a plantain sandwich, is how I learned to love them. As I write, I’m gazing at my three ripened plantains, with plans of sautéing them as a side companion to tonight’s jerk chicken, with rice cooked in coconut milk, bay leaf, fresh ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and other delightful tree foods.

Clearly, the plantain is tasty and versatile as well as being packed with vitamins and minerals. A quick and easy Puerto Rican plantain recipe is to slice one and fry it in butter until brown, then sprinkle it with sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and a pinch of ground nutmeg. For a healthier alternative, bake plantain whole until soft, then peel, slice, and serve as a sweet side dish.

Pineapple

Also called pina, pineapple (Ananassa ananas) is native to South America and is partially naturalized in tropical Africa and more extensively in West Africa. Wild varieties also grow in the African forest. Commercial crops are

basically savanna trees, which grow particularly well in southern

Ghana, where it is also important economically as an export.9 _In

the Americas, Puerto Rico has long been famous for pineapple. Some medicinal qualities of pineapple include the following:

Pineapple juice is healing to catarrhal infections and is recommended for a sore throat.

The stem and stump are rich in starch.

Because it is high in the mineral manganese, pineapple has a very positive effect on regulating menstrual flow, especially when flow is too heavy. I advo- cate its use for smoother menstrual periods generally.

Sliced pineapple is placed in salt water before eating in Puerto Rico and West Indies.

Manganese-rich pineapple strengthens bones; manganese is implicated as an aid to bone metabolism.

Ripe pineapples can be consumed juiced or eaten raw—pineapple juice is most easily absorbed by the body.

As an added bonus, the pineapple has a beautiful shape and color, which has come to symbolize the spirit of hospitality in many different cultures. This

adds to its overall holistic health benefits.10

And here are a couple of additional easy and tasty ways of enjoying pineapple:

Pineapples are so easy to grow that in some countries the fruit itself is not sold because so many people grow the trees. To get your pineapple tree started, slice off the green part of a pineapple fruit. Let it dry for a few days, and then set it in a dish of water. Roots will form in a few days, at which time you can put the plant into some airy potting soil. This must be watered regularly until the roots take, and it needs to receive good sunlight for four to six hours per day (or use a grow light).

Grilled Pineapple

Peel the pineapple. Slice it width-wise in half-inch slices and place the slices directly on the grill. Sear each side for

about four minutes. Eat as an accom- paniment to seafood or fish or as a dessert.

Shish Kabob

The softening juices of the pineapple will tenderize meat or poultry as they grill, and the fruit also adds pleas- ing color. Peel, core, and cube a pine- apple (make sure it is not overly ripe). Slide a cube of seasoned meat, a cube

of pineapple, a slice of pepper (green, red, orange, or purple), and a slice of red onion onto a skewer; repeat until the skewer is full. Grill until the meat is cooked.

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