21_22 QUARTERMASTER CORPS 



except that all the bananas may be eaten raw, while the 

 plantain fruits must be cooked — either boiled, fried, or 

 roasted; green and ripe bananas may also be cooked. The 

 fruits vary much in shape and size as well as in color, vary- 

 ing at maturity from green to various shades of yellow, or 

 even brownish-purple. Many wild forms occur in the for- 

 ested regions (usually, however, not in the high forest except 

 along streams). The fruits of the wild species contain 

 numerous seeds and small quantities of pulp, but even these 

 may be gathered when young and cooked. Other parts of 

 the banana plant may be used as food, especially the fairly 

 large more or less cone-shaped terminal flower bud (see A, fig. 

 61). These flower buds may be boiled or roasted in hot 

 ashes, and certain varieties make an excellent vegetable; 

 others contain fairly large quantities of tannic acid and 

 are hence bitter, but the bitter principle may be eliminated 

 in part by cooking in several changes of water. With the 

 bitter kinds it is best to cut the bud into rather small pieces 

 before cooking. 



b. The soft inner parts of the rather thick root and the 

 tender heart of the base of the stems may be cut into small 

 pieces, boiled, and eaten. Even the small shoots from the 

 lower parts of the plant may be cooked and eaten when 

 nothing better is available. 



c. In general these statements apply to all types of the 

 banana, whether wild or cultivated. While the parts other 

 than the fruits and the flower buds do not rate as first class 

 food by any means, yet they are safe to eat when boiled 

 or roasted. 



■ 22. Specific Fruits. — a. Banana. — ^This fruit is too well 

 known to discuss here. The banana may be eaten raw or 

 cooked, but the plantain requires cooking. Other parts of 

 the cultivated bananas and plantains, and of the wild forms 

 that occur in the forests and old clearings, may be boiled 

 or roasted and eaten, especially the large flower bud ((A), 

 fig. 61) . (B) is a wild and cultivated banana extending from 

 the Moluccas and New Guinea to Polynesia, with erect fruit 

 clusters. There are innumerable native names for the com- 

 mon banana and plantain; some of those for Musa Troglody- 



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