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WHAT IS BANANA?
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry. It is produced by
several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some
countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguishing
them from dessert bananas. The fruit is variable in size, color, and firmness, but is
usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind,
which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in
clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless
bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana.
Banana, fruit of the genus Musa, of the family Musaceae, one of the most
important fruit crops of the world. The banana is grown in the tropics, and,
though it is most widely consumed in those regions, it is valued worldwide for its
flavour, nutritional value, and availability throughout the year. Cavendish, or
dessert, bananas are most commonly eaten fresh, though they may be fried or
mashed and chilled in pies or puddings. They may also be used to flavour muffins,
cakes, or breads.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom- Plantae
Domain- Enkaryota
Phylum- Spermatophya
Subphylum- Angiosperm
Class- Monocotyledonae
Family- Musaceae
Genus- Musa
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PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The banana plant is a gigantic herb that springs from an underground stem, or
rhizome, to form a false trunk 3–6 metres (10–20 feet) high. This trunk is
composed of the basal portions of leaf sheaths and is crowned with a rosette of
10 to 20 oblong to elliptic leaves that sometimes attain a length of 3–3.5 metres
(10–11.5 feet) and a breadth of 65 cm (26 inches). A large flower spike, carrying
numerous yellowish flowers protected by large purple-red bracts, emerges at the
top of the false trunk and bends downward to become bunches of 50 to 150
individual fruits, or fingers. The individual fruits, or bananas, are grouped in
clusters, or hands, of 10 to 20. After a plant has fruited, it is cut down to the
ground, because each trunk produces only one bunch of fruit. The dead trunk is
replaced by others in the form of suckers, or shoots, which arise from the rhizome
at roughly six-month intervals. The life of a single rhizome thus continues for
many years, and the weaker suckers that it sends up through the soil are
periodically pruned, while the stronger ones are allowed to grow into fruit-
producing plants.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF BANANA
What goodness is in a banana?
Bananas are extremely healthy and delicious. They contain several essential
nutrients and provide benefits for digestion, heart health and weight loss. Aside
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from being very nutritious, they are also a highly convenient snack food. Some
evidence-based health benefits of bananas include;
Bananas Contain Many Important Nutrients:
Bananas contain a fair amount of fiber, as well as several antioxidants. One
medium-sized banana (118 grams) also boasts:
Potassium: 9% of the RDI
Vitamin B6: 33% of the RDI
Vitamin C: 11% of the RDI
Magnesium: 8% of the RDI
Copper: 10% of the RDI
Manganese: 14% of the RDI
Net carbs: 24 grams
Fiber: 3.1 grams
Protein: 1.3 grams
Fat: 0.4 grams
Bananas Contain Nutrients That Moderate Blood Sugar Levels
Bananas May Improve Digestive Health
Bananas May Support Heart Health
Bananas Contain Powerful Antioxidants
Bananas May Help You Feel More Full (Resistant starch is a type of
indigestible carbohydrate — found in unripe bananas and other foods —
which functions like soluble fiber in your body)
Unripe Bananas May Improve Insulin Sensitivity
Bananas May Improve Kidney Health
Bananas May Have Benefits for Exercise
Bananas Are Easy to Add to Your Diet
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Manganese contained in banana is good for the skin
Metabolizes amino acids
WHY DO WE NEED TO PRESERVE BANANAS?
Bananas are best consumed when ripe! But as they say, ‘all good things must
come to an end’. Ripe bananas have a very short shelf life of about 2-7 days and
may extend to about 9 days if refrigerated. The high perishability of bananas is
due to their high moisture content. So, it is important to preserve bananas, both
their taste and nutritional value.
METHODS OF PRESERVING BANANAS
There are a lot of methods used in preserving bananas. One of the most efficient
and appropriate methods for preserving bananas is by drying.
Drying is the process of moisture removal due to simultaneous heat and mass
transfer under controlled conditions. Drying as an old method of food
preservation is widely embraced because it is simple, easy to operate and cost-
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effective. Preservation of bananas by drying is a method involving simultaneous
heat and mass transfer. During the process, moisture in bananas diffuses from the
internal to the surface and evaporates into the air stream, meanwhile heat is
transferred from the air to bananas. Drying reduces the bulkiness of bananas
through moisture loss which reduces the volume and eases handling and
processing operations. This in turn reduces the cost of packaging, handling,
storage and transportation. There are different drying techniques with different
advantages and shortcomings.
Some of the drying techniques that can be adopted for the preservation of
bananas include;
I. Sun Drying Process:
Traditional sun drying takes place by laying the bananas under direct
sunlight. The ripened bananas are peeled and dried under the sun. Sun
drying is the cheapest form of drying but the end product is often of
inferior quality when compared to the products obtained from the more
complicated methods. Products are often contaminated by dust, insects,
animals, and rain. The exposure of bananas to direct sunlight may also
result in the loss of vitamins.
II. Solar Drying Process
This method is environmentally friendly and economically feasible
compared to sun drying. Solar drying generates higher air temperature and
lower relative humidity which results in shorter drying time and lower
product moisture content. This method also protects the banana from
contamination due to the higher temperature and enclosed structure.
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III. Hot Air-Drying Process
This is the most commonly used drying method of food preservation and
has been widely applied for drying bananas. But due to the low thermal
conductivity of bananas, this method always results in low efficiency of
heat transfer which leads to long drying time.
Hot Air Drier
IV. Vacuum Drying Process
Vacuum enables moisture contained in the banana to evaporate at a lower
temperature which gives better produce quality. Vacuum drying can help
prevent oxidation since there is no air in the environment. Bananas dried
by vacuum driers sustain better color texture and aroma compared to
those that were air dried.
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Vacuum Dried Bananas Vacuum Drier
METHODS/PROCEDURES WE USED IN PRESERVING OUR BANANAS
After considerations, we opted for the use of sun drying to dry our bananas
because of the availability of facilities to us. Although sun drying wasn’t the best
option, we still opted for it because it does not require a lot of equipment/
materials. Sun drying takes place by laying the bananas under direct sunlight. The
ripened bananas are peeled and dried under the sun.
Materials Used:
Wooden frame
Bowl
Knife
Paper (for laying the bananas on the screen)
Airtight bag (Ziploc)
Procedures:
1. We acquired a wooden drying screen. Although we couldn’t get a typical
drying screen, we improvised and used a chair which the backrest was
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broken. The surface was flat, and it was well elevated, thus could serve as
an appropriate drying screen.
2. We acquired firm ripe bananas that were yellow in color. We made sure not
to add bananas that were already brown/black or soft.
3. We peeled off the banana skins and sliced the bananas into coin shapes
(rounded shapes).
4. We dipped the bananas one by one into a bowl of orange juice (5 alive
puppy orange). This was done to add extra flavour to the bananas and the
ascorbic acid in the orange juice prevents the bananas from turning brown.
5. We arranged the bananas into a single layer on the prepared drying screen
in step 1.
6. We placed the drying screen with the bananas outside of our dormitories.
We made sure to place it in a very sunny spot.
7. We monitored the banana and after about three days, we turned the
bananas over. Drying the bananas took about 8 days in total.
PROS/ADVANTAGES OF THE METHOD WE USED
Although preservation by sun drying isn’t the best method of fruit preservation
out there, it poses some advantages which includes;
It is cost effective
Materials required are readily available
The addition of orange juice prevents brown discoloration and enhances
the product flavour.
CONS:
Quality of the products may be reduced due to dust contamination.
Pest infestation (e.g., flies, birds)
It is usually more time consuming when compared to other drying methods
such as solar drying, vacuum drying and hot-air drying.
OBSERVATIONS
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Loss in water content-
We observed that at the end of the drying process, the moisture content in
the bananas was lost due to the heating.
Reduction in mass of the end products
As the moisture content reduced, the overall mass of the banana products
also reduced greatly.
Change in color
The color of the bananas darkened vividly.
CONCLUSION
Bananas are an essential part of our everyday diet. Considering their short shelf
life or expiration period, it is necessary to preserve them for future consumption.
Moisture content at harvest is too high and needs to be reduced. In the course of
this report, drying characteristics, quality and mass transfer parameters for drying
of the banana slices were explained, and the process discussed. The use of the
approach in this study will be valuable to anyone wishing to preserve ripe
bananas by sun drying.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
The approach in this study was carried out to the best of our abilities. But a few
recommendations that would improve results include;
The use of standard drying screens.
Orange juice may be replaced with sour lime juice or pure ascorbic acid
(obtainable at a grocery shop).
The thinner the banana slices, the less time it would take to dry. In
contrast, if the slices are too thin, they’ll dry up to become too frail and
brittle. So the bananas are recommended to be between ½ to 1cm.
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REFERENCES
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814602001863
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-
bananas#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search
https://www.intechopen.com
https://fooddryingoven.com
https://cookist.com
https://ww.healthexchange.sg
https://chow.com
https://wikipedia.org
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https://researchgate.net
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