Time to learn all about the Seeded Banana, also known as the Wild Banana. You will learn where it comes from and where it grows, its health benefits, how to eat it, and what it tastes like. This is one awesome banana! If you love bananas, you will love learning about this ancestor of our traditional everyday banana.
Where does the seeded banana come from and grow?
The seeded banana or wild banana (Musa balbisiana) is a wild-type species of banana that is one of the ancestors of the modern common banana that we eat today. It belongs to the Musaceae family of fruits. It is known for having several large black or brown seeds in it.
The banana seeds are viable, so you can plant them and produce more seeded bananas, unlike the common banana (Musa acuminata ‘Dwarf Cavendish’), which is grown from “pups” from the mother banana plant.
They are native to Southeast Asia, specifically parts of Indonesia, all the way to the Philippines. They are cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Other notable places where they are cultivated are India, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. Pretty much, where normal bananas grow, these can be grown. In the United States, they are grown in Hawaii and Florida.
If you do want to plant them, make sure they are planted in full sun or mostly full sun, and give them plenty of water and organic compost, and other nutrients, and they will thrive.
You may or may not be able to find this banana where you live. I bought mine online.
Buy this fruit here: https://bit.ly/44pkRER 10% off with this code: MATTTAY10
Wild Banana Health Benefits
The wild banana is very close in nutritional value to the common banana. Here are some of its health benefits:
- High in dietary fiber
- High in Potassium
- A large amount of carbohydrates per serving
- Good source of vitamins A and B
When is it ripe? How to eat the seeded banana?
Like other seedless bananas, the seeded banana is picked while it is still green, and then it continues to ripen at room temperature. It is ripe when it is completely yellow and possibly a little orange, and also when it is soft.
Slice it open and remove the seeds, and then you can eat it. You can just take a bite and then spit out the seeds if desired. They aren’t typically eaten raw like the common banana, but you certainly can if you wish. Lots of times they are used in smoothies, ice cream, baked goods like banana bread, and in Java, they are used in a popular dish called Rujak.
What does it taste like?
First of all, it is surprising just how many black seeds are in one small banana. I counted 5 seeds in a small 1-inch-long piece of banana. And the seeds are larger than I might expect, around the size of an airsoft pellet.
The large seeds themselves are edible, but not commonly edible because they are pretty hard. Usually, they are just spit out.
They taste a little different than the normal bananas we are used to. They are creamy, slightly sweet, hint of a tropical banana taste, but also more starchy and sometimes a little bitter. Overall, however, they are very pleasant tasting. If you love bananas, you will like the taste of these.
There you go, I hope you enjoyed learning about the seeded banana or wild banana. Have you had these before? Let me know!
Watch the video I made about this awesome fruit here!
