Taking banana flowers involves carefully peeling back the layers of the large, purplish bud to access the edible blossoms hidden within.
Extracting Flowers from the Banana Bud
The process of taking banana flowers is straightforward and involves systematically removing the outer protective layers to reveal the clusters of flowers. This is often done when preparing the flowers for cooking.
Simple Steps for Harvesting Banana Flowers
Follow these steps to extract the usable flowers from a banana bud:
- Start opening the outer leaves one by one. These are the tough, dark outer bracts of the bud.
- Under each leaf you will find a group of long pale yellow flowers. These flowers are arranged in rows.
- Keep repeating the first 2 steps: open the leaf, collect flowers, discard leaf. Continue this process, working your way inwards.
While peeling, the leaves will get softer and paler in colour and the flowers will get smaller til all that's left is this. This inner part, sometimes called the "heart," can also be used in cooking, often after some preparation.
