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Banana snack industry goes stale

Not so long ago, the Central Java town of Majenang was famous for being the home of sale pisang, a unique snack made with bananas, but recently the market changed and the local snack industry faded to a fraction of its former success. Majenang, one of 23 districts in Cilacap regency in the far west of the province - bordering with Banjar and Ciamis regencies in West Java - has about 30 small factories producing the snack. Before the 1998 economic crisis, there were around 100 such producers, leading Cilacap administration to come up with the idea of making the snack the icon of Majenang. But with the crisis, the plan hit snags and many cottage industries were forced out of business. More than a decade later, the situation has yet to improve. "Before the crisis I could sell 2 or 3 tons of fried banana sweets to Jakarta. But things are difficult now," Yayat, a 61-year-old sale pisang business owner, told The Jakarta Post in Majenang. Today, Yayat produces only about 200 kilograms of sale pisang a month, and 99 percent of this is sold in Majenang. The snacks are sold in 250-gram packages, each costing around Rp 25,000 (US$2). Another snack producer, Juremi, said that before the crisis she could send 2 tons of sale pisang to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya each month. "Now we only sell sale pisang for the local market," the 60-year-old said. Juremi said most of the snack producers were struggling to survive. "What's important is that business survives. If there are buyers in the city, that's enough. Sometimes we get an order from outside the city, but this is unreliable," she said. "Once, a distributor from outside the city wanted to place an order, but the price he offered was too low to cover our production costs. Rather than suffering losses, we preferred not to take it." Making sale pisang does not take long. Ripe bananas are cut into slices and dried in the sun. "If the sun is bright, the bananas will dry out in two days. But in a rainy season like this, it takes about four days," Juremi said. The dried bananas are then smeared with flour and deep-fried. After being drained, the banana chips are ready to be packaged and sold. The sale pisang business has supported many, including farmers and traders who sell raw bananas to cottage industries in Majenang, as well as banana snack makers such as Juremi and Yayat, and the vendors. Majenang district head, Heru Susedyo, said he was aware of the stagnant business situation. "Sale pisang was once so popular that the Cilacap administration planned to make it the icon of Majenang city, but the plan could not be realized because sales keep decreasing." http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/06/

Thursday 29 October 2009

BANANA

Bananas are the fruit of a plant of the genus Musa (family Musaceae) , which are cultivated primarily for food, and secondarily for the production of fibers that are used, for example, in the textile industry. they are also cultivated for ornamental purposes.

The history of bananas is pretty exciting, since they are the result of a genetic mutation that evolved into a staple food of our society. In fact, bananas are probably the most widespread fruit crop in the whole world. For example, you will learn that the most widespread species - the "Cavendish" banana - was named after the Duke of Devonshire's family! Today they are known for their sweet taste, good nutritional properties (see bananas nutrition facts) with their high content in potassium and fibers (and vitamins such as B6, C and A ), and best of all their ease of use: just peel and eat!

It is important to note that the real banana tree is actually a fruit that must be cooked before eating, has a green, red or brown color and has seeds: it is today the staple food of many african populations and is different from the bananas we are used to eat. The original banana is a cultivar used as a food (cooked or ground to make banana flour) and a a source of fibre. Banana leaves are also used to transport food or as umbrellas (since they are large and waterproof)

The yellow bananas we eat today are a cross between the green and the red banana tree (species Musa acuminata or the hybrid Musa x paradisiaca), and this cross is sterile (hence the lack of seeds in the banana).

There have been numerous studies showing the health benefits of bananas, and this has proven this fruit to be very convenient, both for its ease of consumption (especially in a fast-paced work environment) and for its nutritional properties

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