Fresh is best: Banana blossom has many health benefits.
When a friend learned that I have trouble sleeping, she told be about an article she had just read recommending banana tea for those suffering from insomnia. “All you have to do is boil an unpeeled banana, with both ends cut off, in a small pot of water for 10 minutes. Pour the water through a colander into a mug, and drink it one hour before bed,” she instructed.
“Needless to say you have to wash the banana first. And if you want, you can also eat the boiled banana, and better still, the peel,” she added.
In the Philippines there’s a variety of banana, known as saba, which is best eaten when cooked. Most Filipinos grow up eating it in many ways — sliced and fried for breakfast, cooked in syrup and eaten with crushed ice, fried and dipped in caramel, or cooked as a savoury with fish, pork or beef and assorted vegetables. But I love it best when it is boiled.
In my many years in Thailand I have not been able to find saba, so when I feel like eating boiled banana I use kluay nam wa instead. When boiled, kluay nam wa tastes like saba. However, this was the first time I heard that the peel and the water in which it was boiled could cure insomnia.
Blooming big: The banana blossom is actually the male flower of the plant.
My friend did not say what variety to use. As I only had kluay hom that day, it was what I boiled although I knew it was best eaten fresh. Kluay hom when boiled was rather mushy but I ate it anyway, together with the tasteless peel. The decoction did not need further sweetening. Either my lack of sleep the previous nights finally caught up with me or the remedy worked, for I slept like a log that night.
The following day I went to the market and bought kluay nam wa. I did not eat the peel this time around, but as in the previous night I slept well. Bananas are rich in potassium and magnesium, and according to the article that my friend cited, these help blood vessels and muscles relax, inducing sleep.
Meanwhile, tea made of banana blossom is good for lactating mothers. My daughter-in-law, who is breastfeeding her four-month-old baby, can attest to it. She said her milk had increased since she started drinking the tea.
The banana blossom is actually the male flower of the banana. The banana inflorescence comes in the form of a large spadix that emerges at the centre of the crown of leaves. The flowers grow in a semi-circular pattern on the spadix. They open from the base of the spadix and develop gradually towards the apex, and as the flowers develop, the spadix lengthens.
In all cultivars of banana, the inflorescence comprises female flowers at the base of the spadix, followed by hermaphrodite in the middle and male flowers at the apex. It is only the female and hermaphrodite flowers that develop into fruit, so the male flower is cut off and either thrown away or cooked and eaten as a vegetable. In Thailand, banana blossom is eaten raw as an accompaniment to phat Thai. In the Philippines, it is an indispensable ingredient of the native dish kare-kare, or oxtail and vegetables stewed in thick peanut sauce.
When buying banana blossom, you can tell that it is fresh if the petals are firmly intact and the florets inside the petals are not discoloured. Each floret contains a stiff pistil, which must be discarded before cooking.
Llots of suckers: Bananas are propagated by offshoots that grow around the mother plant.
The banana blossom, like the fruit, is rich in carbohydrates, phosphorus, calcium and iron, as well as vitamins A, B and C. The high iron content helps in the production of red blood cells, thus preventing anaemia. Tests conducted by researchers at the Forest Research Institute Malaysia found it to contain high quantities of antioxidants and flavonoids, which prevent cancer and high blood pressure.
Regular consumption of banana blossom is also recommended as a remedy for diabetes as well as for polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal disorder for women. Signs and symptoms include irregular or no menstrual period.
The banana is often called a tree but actually it is a herbaceous plant. The stem is a false trunk composed of large sheath leaves rolled into one. The number of leaves is almost always 10; as the outer leaves grow old and ripen, new ones emerge on the inside.
Bananas are propagated by suckers, that is, the offshoots that grow around the mother plant. In 10 to 12 months, the plant reaches maturity, during which it begins to flower, bear fruit then die, to be replaced by the suckers which grow and develop at different stages, making it possible to obtain a continuous crop rhythm.
The banana plant has no special requirements relating to soil, but it must have a good degree of fertility and good drainage. This can be achieved by digging a hole about 40cm wide and 40cm deep, and putting organic matter in it to provide fertility for the soil as it decomposes. Alternatively, pour half a kilogramme of complete fertiliser into the hole at the time of planting. The fertiliser is immediately utilised by the young roots, ensuring a healthy plant and a fruitful crop.
When applying fertiliser to the next generation of suckers, it is advisable to administer small doses at frequent intervals. Dig small holes around the plant and pour the fertiliser into the holes so that it is not washed away by the rains or by watering, which is what usually happens when it is only scattered around the plant.
Even the most fertile soils are impoverished by the continuous cultivation of banana plants, so reduce the number of suckers and replant them elsewhere to start a new cycle of banana crops. When transplanting a sucker, make sure you cut it at its base without damaging the mother plant in any way.
Skin is in: Boiled ‘kluay nam wa’ is good for insomnia.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.