Bananas - Pisang Abu

Quite a few of my friends are only familar with Pisang Montel, the ones that you can easily find in supermarkets.  Only a few are familar with the many varieties that we have in Malaysia - dare I say it - the real local varieties.  A few have suggested that I do write-ups on them so this is the first of the series.  At the farm, we have over 10 varieties and I continue on my quest to uncover more.....
Among the variety of banana plant that is planted at the farm is Pisang Abu.  There is two types: Pisang Abu Batu and Pisang Abu Bunga.  This variety is often used in cooking the many sweet delicacies that we have.  The most often way is as banana fritters or pisang goreng.  It can also be eaten raw.
The inflorescence or jantung pisang is also amongst the tastiest and does not have a bitter taste.  For those ulam lovers, if you like raw inflorescence, then this is the variety for you.  Of course, you can also eat this cooked.
The initial plant takes about 1 year before it starts to bear fruit.  However, as the plant matures, baby plants will begin to sprout.  This plant can grow to over 10m with the pseudostem diameter of 20cm.  However, to ensure good quality future plants, do not remove the baby plants from the cluster until the initial plant has been harvested.

The pisang abu batu is slightly larger that its "sibling" and turns into a nice yellow when ripe.  Due to its size, this is the often used in banana fritters for commercial purposes thus making it more readily available due to demand.

The pisang abu bunga is has black/brown areas on the skin with the green portions turning into yellow when ripe.  For me, I prefer this type for my banana fritters as it is sweeter than pisang abu batu as well as having a lower moisture content hence it soaks less oil during frying.
For both types, the shape is almost squarish with clear edges and narrows to a flat end.  Depending on the type, the skin can be relatively thick so at the farm, we have selected the type that is not although the skin may appear to be.  It also has a velvety outer skin texture.
So, next time that you are buying banana fritters, you might want to find out which variety it is :)