Thursday, February 3, 2011

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!


It’s no secret-people here in East Timor LOVE bananas! First and foremost, they are served after every meal for “dessert” (yes, you read that right. No chocolate cake, no cookies, just fruit for dessert). Sometimes, as a special dessert treat they are mixed with diced avocadoes and sugar.

Bananas are also a staple snack food. Fried bananas are really delicious and sold at any local market (you can buy 6 for 15 cents), baked bananas dipped in oil and topped with sugar are a favorite Christmas present to give and receive, store bought snack size banana layer cake snacks are also available. A common snack at the orphanage is boiled bananas. To prepare these, bananas (with the peel) are added to boiling water for 10 minutes or so.  After peeling, they are ready to eat! I prefer plain bananas, though-boiled bananas are hard (consistency of a baked potato) and not very sweet.

Thus far, I have tasted 3 different kinds of bananas. The most common kind looks and tastes very similar to bananas sold in the U.S., but they are half the size and a little sweeter. Another kind of banana has a dark green peel, appears more diamond shaped than round, and are the typical length of bananas sold in the U.S. These are good for preparing baked or fried bananas. The third kind of banana is called a “boat banana.” They are so named because they have the largest diameter of any bananas found in East Timor (as big as a boat!). How thick are they? It is hard to grasp your hand around the circumference of one.  They have a red peel and are a little TOO sweet for me. They are not mushy, but they have the taste of a mushy banana. I have trouble finishing a whole one on my own.  

Often, patients will bring in bananas as payment for their treatment at the clinic (we ask for a 50 cent donation)! Sister Caroline and I always appreciate this healthy snack when we work long hours and we are very grateful for their kindness and generosity.

Naturally, with an abundance of bananas, legends have evolved surrounding them. For example, sometimes you will find 2 bananas that are fused together. Many Timorese people believe that if a woman eats these, she will have twins! The sisters were telling me of an elderly nun who adamantly holds to this belief and refuses to eat fused bananas even today!

Interestingly, with the creativity in incorporating bananas into so many meals and recipes, I have yet to taste banana bread, banana cream pie, banana splits (no freezers in Venilale, so this isn’t really possible) or banana pancakes. I hope to prepare banana pancakes and banana bread as special treats for the sisters sometime during my stay here. Anyone else have any banana recipe ideas? Please let me know!

1 comment:

  1. keels! my mom thinks the same thing about fused fruits. i thought she was the only nut but i guess now! she doesn't let us eat them and some how..that nasty habit is one ive adopted. i wonder how many fused fruits i've chucked in the trash in fear of having twins one day! (also, another reason i should go to east timor...so many things we have in common!)

    ReplyDelete