NOTHING PSEUDO ABOUT IT

The fibre-rich banana pseudo-stem is a treasure trove of minerals and health benefits

- VIBHA VARSHNEY

BANANAS ARE an ideal plant for those who believe in the "root-to-stem" philosophy—utilising an entire plant, resulting in minimal food waste. However, people usually just consume the fruit, not realising that its flowers and pseudo-stem, too, are equally nutritious. The pseudo-stem is often skipped over more, perhaps because it does not look as appetising when sold in markets. Unlike real stems, the banana stem is just a soft core wrapped inside tightly wound leaf sheaths, which explains its "pseudo" prefix.

The perennial plant belongs to the Musaceae family and is believed to be the world's oldest cultivated crop. It is found all over the world in tropical and subtropical regions. In India, it likely came from the native southwestern Pacific around 600 BC. In rural parts of the country, bananas are one of the most common plants in kitchen gardens. Its widespread cultivation is likely due to the fact that each part of the plant can be used. During harvest, the pseudo-stem is cut along with the fruits to allow young banana plants to grow. The outer leaf sheaths are discarded, and only the soft core is consumed.