October 2003

 

Ice Cream “Blue Java”

Banana – Musa spp.

Origin: Unknown

One of the best tasting bananas….ever! The fruit when ripe looks like ice cream with just enough acidity to offset the sweetness for a really interesting taste. The Ice Cream banana plant is a vigorous grower, reaching up to sixteen feet when well cared for. It is adaptable to most soil types and can be grown in container culture. Like most bananas, it does the best in full sun with plenty of water.

Similar to its namesake, the Ice Cream banana is quite cold hardy, handling temperatures approaching frost with little or no damage. However, as far as bananas go, the general rule is the same. If frost is allowed to form on its leaves, they will turn brown and wilt.

The Blue Java part comes from the unripe fruit’s unusual silver-blue color. As the Ice Cream banana ripens, it’s fruit turns to a pale yellow. If you still have any doubts, here’s a nifty recipe that’s sure to change your mind.

Banana Ice Cream Supreme

• 1 pint milk
• ½ cup unsweetened condensed milk
• 1 TBSP custard powder milk
• 2 egg yolks (beaten)
• ¾ cup evaporated milk
• 3 bananas (pureed)

1. Mix the custard powder into a paste with a little milk. Bring remainder of milk to a boil and stir in paste and beaten egg yolks.
2. Cook over a low heat for three minutes. Stir until cool then mix in condensed and evaporated milk as well as banana puree. Set in freezer. When very firm, pack in container lined with wax paper. Replace into freezer. Enjoy!