Now that I got it, what do I do with it?

[larry_stewart]

Came across a fresh Banana Blossom today at the market.
Ive had them canned before, never fresh.

Even when canned, I tasted it out of curiosity but didnt do anything with its.

I haven't searched the internet for ideas ( but I will).

Just curious of any of you have experienced it before , either tasted or cooked with it.

 

[dragnlaw]

Never knew it was even a food item! Looks fascinating, Larry. Was the canned version sweet like canned peaches or such?

 

[karadekoolaid]

Never tried it, Larry, but I understand it´s popular in South India and Sri Lanka. If that´s the case, sounds like lots of chiles, fresh coconut, turmeric and mustard seeds.

 

[larry_stewart]

The canned version was not sweet. To be honest didnt have much taste either, was more of a texture thing, Ive read that the raw banana flower taste like raw artichoke ( which it does cause I tasted it).

I saw a few recipes, and yeah, being used primarily in the souther asian countries, there is a a lot of spices coconut ...

I have a Friend from the Philippines , Ill probably speak to her tonight to see what she does with it.

I also watched a few videos on how to use/ prepare it for cooking. Looks like Im in for a real treat. I have to peel each leaf off, under that leave are a dozen or so baby banana in which I have to open and pluck a few components out of them, then repeat until I get to the center , which is yellowish-white ( the heart). at that point I can slice up the whole thing.

The video is long and tedious, not worth watching the whole 9 minutes, but you'll get the idea. In this one she doesn't really use the ' heart', there is another video where they do, but the guy got on my nerves, so I didnt want to subject you guys to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2FC1tN-EZg&t=3s

 

[pepperhead212]

Larry Here is a link where I've seen some info on banana blossoms - more than some others, and there's a video down on the that made me think of you, with the title "One blossom, three healthy recipes"! You may have seen it already. She gives a lot of info on cleaning them - as with most of them, they show a lot of waste, when cleaning. This is why I didn't get any, when I saw them in the market, though I might still, if you put out a good word for them! I see them occasionally, at that Indian market, and even more often at the Korean market.
https://hebbarskitchen.com/banana-flower-recipes-banana-blossom/

 

[larry_stewart]

Larry Here is a link where I've seen some info on banana blossoms - more than some others, and there's a video down on the that made me think of you, with the title "One blossom, three healthy recipes"! You may have seen it already. She gives a lot of info on cleaning them - as with most of them, they show a lot of waste, when cleaning. This is why I didn't get any, when I saw them in the market, though I might still, if you put out a good word for them! I see them occasionally, at that Indian market, and even more often at the Korean market.
https://hebbarskitchen.com/banana-flower-recipes-banana-blossom/

Thanks, ill check it out.
This is the first time I saw fresh ones available, so I couldn't resist.

Years ago, I actually got a flower on banana tree ( after jackassing it inside and outside every winter for a decade). I was hoping it would mature and Id get fruit, but it was September and just didnt have enough time. I

 

[larry_stewart]

So I spoke o my friend from the Philippines and she gave me a few suggestions.

I was all set to try some of the recipes from the link above, but after waiting around all day for someone to give me an estimate on some work I need around the house, just for him to call and cancel for another day, I lost window of opportunity to do some real cooking and had to go with quick recipes.

There was no way I was going to have time to pluck out all the baby banana florets so I concentrated on the Heart of the flower itself.

Basically cut up the heart, boiled it in salted water, drained.
Fried up some onions, garlic and ginger. Tossed in the cut up banana flowers, added lime, salt and coconut milk.

The banana flower doesn't have much taste. More of a texture thing. The closest I can compare it to is the inner tender yellow leaves of an artichoke.

Im looking forward to getting another one to try those other recipes.

Another cold salad she suggested was : boil it till its soft (not too soft for salad) i mix it with onions, bell pepper, little ginger then vinigar and salt

She also said they chop it real fine and mix it with ground meat ( to kinda stretch the amount of the final product so they didnt have to use so much meat (which is expensive where she lives).

She said during the pandemic, she ate a lot of it because it was cheap. banana trees grow all over the place there, so it is basically free food ( as long as the land owners dont catch you clipping the flowers off thee trees (Her words, not mine)).

Makes me feel grateful for what I have.