Pisang Embun Wangi a.k.a. Bunga - fragrant delight

One of my favourite bananas to eat raw - either on its own, in a banana split or in my greek yoghurt

with honey - all natural, no hormones or chemical pesticide or fertiliser, non-GMO with a fragrant honey sweet taste beats the GMO, often with chemical inducements commercial Cavendish hands down.  In size and shape they are similar to Cavendish.  In the age where we have a choice, I choose Pisang Embun Wangi over the Cavendish any day.  The Kedahans also call it Pisang Bunga.  In Indonesia, it is called Pisang Ambon.

The plant itself grows quite tall, about 5m so it does need a bit of room to grow in a home garden.  However, if you love fresh bananas, this tree might be your choice.  The inflorescence (jantung pisang) is bitter so it is not eaten.

The taste is similar to Pisang Emas and Lemak Manis although the texture is softer but not mushy.  This banana ripens with a light yellowish-green  or pale yellow skin so if you are waiting for it to turn fully bright yellow, you would probably end up with an over-ripe, mushy brown/black skin banana.  As with most local bananas, it is best stored in a basket or fruit bowl, not on a cool surface like ceramic tiles.  When stored in the fridge, the skin will turn brown-black even though it may still be good to eat.  It is funny how many are still tuned in that for a banana to be ripe, it must be yellow.  There are many varieties of banana which ripen with a green skin so it is best not to "judge the book by its cover".  The flesh is also a cream color with a pale yellow tinge in the centre.

This banana is best consumed raw and is not suitable for turning into banana fritters because it tends to "soak" in the oil.  However, it is also good when roasted with the skin still on or turned into smoked bananas (pisang salai).  Another option is to use it to make cakes and pancakes especially when it is overripe as it tends to be mushy to mashing them up would be easy.

From a nutrition standpoint, as with other bananas, it is high in fiber and also contains vitamin A, C and calcium.  In traditional medicine, this fruit is eaten when you have a fever and the pseudo stem is heated and used to treat sore muscles.