Aeae

Take a look at tog's Aeae banana today. It has a huge stalk of fingers of impressive size. This is a Koae or Aeae variety, believed to have origins from the islands of Hawaii. Research says it is doing best in cool, moist woodlands at elevations of 500 to 1,000 feet. But they do great right here too, judged by this enormous bunch. Both Aeae banana's variegated foliage and fruit of green beautifully striped with white streaks make this plant one of the most attractive of the banana varieties. Because this photo does not show you the beautiful leaves, you can see a sample of it here. Koae is the only variegated variety growing in Hawaii and it is well known to Hawaiians. This variety is more of a plantain type which is a fair cooking banana and it is rarely eaten raw. Bananas are very rich in carbohydrates, vitamin C, A and some B; and several important minerals, including potassium, copper, magnesium, calcium, and iron. Being a plantain, Aeae has high starch and low sugar levels plus copious amounts of bitter-tasting latex. To break down the stinging, bitter latex, Aeae's pulp is soaked in salt water for about 10 minutes before cooking. Because a fungus known as the Panama disease once nearly wiped out all of the edible bananas plantations, tog is now very worried that some caterpillars are killing all his precious Aeaes. That would be terrible!