Tips and Guides

Banana is one of the most common and widely grown fruit crops in the Philippines. It is also one of the country’s major dollar earners, and has consistently ranked next to coconut oil and prawns in terms of value earnings during the last five years.

In 1991, banana topped local production among the other major fruits such as pineapple and mango, thus eating up more than one-third of the production pie.

Banana has various uses. The ripe fruit is pureed, candied, and preserved in various forms when not eaten fresh. Its extract is used in the manufacture of catsup, vinegar, and wine. The unripe fruit is powdered and chipped.

In rural areas, the young leaves are pounded to suppress bleeding and treat wounds. The leaves are also widely used as packing materials for fruits and vegetables in market centers. Banana fiber is manufactured into rope, sack, and mat. Sheets of paper and paper boards are also made from banana peel. Banana blossom is exported dried. Filipino housewives use it in special dishes.

VARIETY

Banana is native to Southeast Asia where the climate is warm and humid. Of the 57 banana cultivars, the following are the most common in the Philippines:

1. Saba
grows to as tall as 20 feet; fruit is angular; has thick peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 15 to 16 months.

2. Lacatan
grows to a height of five to nine feet; fruit is round, seedless; has thick peel that has green when unripe, yellow-orange when ripe; gestation period is 14 to 15 months. Read more…

The lowly ” Talbos ng Kamote” or Sweet Potato is a health vegetable rich in antioxidants and other nutrients useful in maintaining a healthy body.

A new study conducted by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of South Korea shows that sweet potato contains antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic.

Antioxidants, known as the modern-day anti-aging nutrients, are phytochemicals or substances (mostly present in fruits and vegetables), which neutralize or counterbalance the free radicals that are generated by the body during normal metabolism.

Free radicals are the most vicious and toxic by-products of metabolism. When not neutralized, they can travel through the body cells, disrupting the structures of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and cause cell damages.

These damages are believed to contribute to aging and degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cataract, and the like.

Sweet potato antioxidants are higher in the leaves than in the tops, but higher in the tops than in the roots and petioles.

Also, all parts of sweet potato, especially the leaves and tops, contain protein, lipids, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and vitamin A and C.

These nutrients are favorably comparable with those of other vegetable nutrients when they are boiled or used in their dry form than when they are consumed raw.

PFN No. 6482 July-September 2004

Source: FFTC leaflet for agriculture. No. 2001-34. Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC), 14 Wen Chow St., Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Cooperating agency for this topic: Rural Development Administration (RDA), Suwon, South Korea.

Photo courtesy of www.aloha.net, and www.bigdipperfarm.com

Fruits that have flavor and a substance called pectin can be transformed into delicious jelly, such as the bignay fruit, papaya, duhat, santol, tamarind and guava. Soursop (guayabano) sininguelas, breadfruit(rimas), anonas and chico all have high pectin content. Fruits that have very low pectin are difficult or cannot be made into jelly.

Testing fruit for pectin. To determine whether a certain fruit can be successfully made into jelly, boil a small amount of its juice with sugar. If it gels, then it is rich in pectin.

You can also test using 95 per cent denatured wood alcohol. Mix two tablespoon of this with one tablespoon of fruit juice. If transparent, jelly-like lump is formed, then the fruit can be successfully be transformed in to jelly. Make sure that the gel formed is firm and does not dissolve easily.

Another test for pectin content makes use of a jelmeter. This is an instrument similar to pipette, where the fruit juice is allowed to run down the tube. Observe the juice, whether it is thick enough and runs down the tube slowly.

Testing fruit for acid contents. Fruit have to be made into jelly should also have the right acidity-pH 3.4. To test this acidity, mix one tablespoon of kalamansi juice and eight tablespoon (1/2 cup ) of water. Compare its taste with that of the fruit juice. The fruit juice has high acid content if it taste as sour as the kalamansi juice. You may increase the fruit juice’s acidity by adding kalamansi, lemon juice, or commercial citric.

1. Preparing the fruit. To make jelly, select and mix together both ripe and slightly underripe fruit. Do not choose overripe, nor green immature fruit as these do not have enough flavor.

2. Wash the fruit thoroughly in cold running water, then crush, grind or chop into fine pieces. Place them in a large kettle then add just enough water to immerse the mashed fruit. Juicy or watery fruit will only need about 1/2 cup of water per kilo of fruit. Add kalamansi, etc., if the fruit is known to have low acid content.

3. Boiling and extracting the juice. Boil the fruit low heat until the flesh becomes tender. Soft fruit may be boiled for only three minutes, while firmer fruit require a longer period. Dot not overcook as this will reduce the jelly’s quality.

4. Transfer the cook pulp with the juice into a damp jelly bag. This may be a clean piece of cheesecloth made into baglike strainer. Allow the juice to drain completely, then twist and press the bag just hard enough to squeeze out the juice. Afterwards, strain the extracted juice again through a damp cheesecloth with double thickness. Do not squeeze this time in order to acquire the purest juice.

Fruits rich in pectin and juice can be extracted twice. After juice has been removed the first time, return the pulp to the kettle, add enough water, then boil again. Drain and mix the juice with the previously extracted one.

5. Cooking the jelly. Test the fruit juice again for acidity and pectin content. Measure the juice in cups, then prepare one cup of sugar for every cup of juice that is rich in pectin. For fruit with only a moderate amount of pectin, prepare 3/4 cup of sugar for every cup of juice. If the juice is pale in color, add sugar before cooking, otherwise, add sugar after it has been boiled.

Cook no more than two cups of juice at a time. Keep the kettle covered and bring to a boil as fast as possible without stirring. When large bubbles form that tend to” jump out” of the pan, you may remove the kettle from heat.

In a saucer with water, pour a small amount of boiling syrup. If the syrup from a soft ball which crinkles when pushed with a finger, and retains its shape when lifted out of the water, then the jelly has been cooked sufficient. You may also test by just putting a small amount of the boiling syrup into a saucer and observing whether the syrups forms into a gel.

Another way to test the “jellying point” is to dip a wooden spoon into the boiling jelly. The jelly has been cooked sufficiently if it sets on the spoon and falls off as one sheet of flake. Boiling temperature has to reach 119.5o to 222oF for the jelly to be cooked just right.

6. Finishing the jelly. Remove the kettle from the heat immediately after the jelly has been cooked well enough. Remove the scum or impurities by drawing a clean piece of paper across the surface of the jelly. You can also strain the jelly through two layers of sinamay cloth.

7. Pour the jelly at once into a warm jars, leaving 1/2-inch allowance from the top. Set aside to cool undisturbed. Before the jellycools completely, pour melted paraffin 1/8-inch thick to cover the surface, or just place waxed tissue to seal the top completely. Use vacuum sealing, if possible.

8. Store jelly in cool, dark and dry places.

INGREDIENTS TO BE USED TO TRANSFORM SOME FRUITS INTO JELLY

Bignay 3/4 -1 cup of sugar/cup Ripe of juice
Papaya 3/4 -1 cup of sugar/cup Slightly underripe of juice
2 tablespoons kalamansi juice/cup of juice
1 tablespoon kalamansi juice/2 cups of fruit
Duhat 3/4 -1 cup sugar/cup Ripe of juice
1 tablespoon kalamansi /cup of juice
Tamarind 3/4 -1 cup of sugar/cup Ripe of juice
(Soak overnight in water before cooking) (Boil for 15 minutes.)
Guava 3/4 -1 cup sugar/cup of Mixed green and ripe juice fruits
1 tablespoon kalamansi juice/cup of juice

Source: DOST, photo courtesy of www.nippi-inc.co.jp

To make the most out of your food, especially nowadays that prices are escalating to the roof, you should protect the nutrients it contains. The way food is handled, stored, and prepared – from the time it is harvested until it is eaten – will affect its nutritional value. To make sure you and your family get the most nutrients from the food you eat, follow these simple practices:

1. When eating raw fruits and vegetables, eat the skin – if it is edible.

2. When cooking fruits and vegetables, leave them in their skin when possible.

3. When peeling, remove only the thin outer layer.

4. Use just enough water in cooking to prevent sticking. It usually takes only 1/2 to 1 cup of water for most foods. Some nutrients dissolve in water and will be lost if cooking water is drained away.

5. If a cooked or canned food contains too much liquid, reduce by boiling instead of draining off.

6. Cook vegetables and fruits just until tender, in a covered pot. If you do not have a pot lid, a heavy plate may work.

7. Do not rinse rice (except when there is some dirt or bad smell) and pasta before or after cooking, as some nutrients will be washed away.

8. Use fresh or cooked foods as soon as possible, as nutrients are lost during long storage -even when placed in the refrigerator. Be sure to check the “sell by” date when buying food and use by that date or within a few days.

9. When food is stored in refrigerator or freezer, wrap in air-tight plastic wrap or freezer bag, or put in a closed container. Air causes loss of nutrients and flavor.

10. After a meal or snack, do not allow cooked or peeled fruits and vegetables or milk and meat products to remain outside of the refrigerator for long periods. This can cause loss of nutrients. Foods containing milk and meat may become unsafe.

11. If food is hot, cool until you can handle the container – then refrigerate. Hot food does not have to cool completely before refrigeration. Time out of refrigerator should be less than 2 hours.

Source:Virginia Cooperative Extension, Publication Number 348-723, Virginia State University; photo courtesy of www.villa-kuretake.co.jp