| Mexico Guide |
| Flora & Fauna of Mexico |
| Nature Overview |
| Flora |
| Banana |
| Bougainvillea |
| Cashews |
| Cirian |
| Coconut |
| Habilla |
| Mangos |
| Papaya |
| Tamarindo |
| A Tropical Garden |
| Fauna |
| Birds |
| Insects |
| Mammals |
| Reptiles |
| Sea Life |
Books on Nature in Mexico |
The banana is an herbaceous plant (not a tree) originating in the Indo-Malaysian region reaching to northern Australia. They are believed to have been first introduced to Europe in the 10th Century A.D., reaching the Americas with Portuguese mariners in the 16th C., and bananas and plantains now grow in every humid tropical region of the world.
The ripe fruit of the dessert banana is high in energy and low in fat. It is rich in vitamins B6, A and C, and particularly in potassium. Dessert bananas are those commonly eaten raw and can be preserved by cooking canning, freezing or drying.
Plantains and cooking bananas are used when still unripe. They require cooking to break down the starchy pulp. They can be boiled in their skins (first pierce the skin with a fork), fried (great in butter with a bit of brown sugar and a dollop of cream!) or baked, and make an excellent accompaniment to almost any kind of dish.
In Mexico one can often find what look like little baby bananas that are not much larger than a fat finger. These have a distinctive, tangy, citrusy flavor that is particularly good.
A favorite recipe for a Banana smoothie:
Freeze a banana in the peel (seal it into a plastic bag and allow it to freeze totally - the peel will turn black but the fruit will be just fine inside). Blend and freeze 1 cup of fresh mango pulp. Once both of these are well frozen, place in blender and add about 1/2 cup of unsweetened apple juice. Whip it up into a thick, smooth, still-almost-frozen mass. Add more apple juice or just plain water if it's too thick and cold. This tastes as good as smooth, creamy chocolate!
