Banana Flour – what’s all the fuss about
Banana Flour is relatively new to the health food scene in Australia and is in super high demand due to its versatility and nutritional benefits. Quite simply, it is flour made from pulverised green bananas. The fruit must be unripe and only certain varieties are suitable. Australia’s first commercial producer of Green Banana Flour – Natural Evolution, is located in North Queensland and uses Cavendish Bananas for best results.
The product is completely gluten-free, making it suitable for coeliacs, those who are gluten intolerant and has also been shown to help with weight loss. In addition, and unlike regular wheat flours, it is also packed with nutrients, containing vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to your health.
One of the concerns people have about banana flour is its taste. If you have been wary, don’t be. It surprisingly doesn’t taste like bananas. It has an earthy, wholemeal-y taste so it doesn’t overpower or interfere with other flavours in baking or cooking.
You may need to experiment with your favourite recipes and quantities used. Green banana flour is high in starch so the general rule of thumb is to use 30% less of this product. If you have recipes you have loved and perfected in the past it may take a while to get the combination just right. It’s lighter and fluffier than coconut or almond flour so will result in a less dense finished product than these flours.
To get you started on your quest for success we contacted the folk at Natural Evolution and asked for their favourite, no fail recipe using this new wonder product. Try this Orange Cake recipe pronto. It is awesome!
Natural Evolution Orange Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup of Natural Evolution Green Banana Flour
- ½ cup of water
- ½ cup of milk (can be rice, almond, coconut)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of orange rind
- 2 eggs
- 125g of softened butter (or replace with something else you like to use)
- ¼ cup of honey or ¾ cup of sugar
Method
- Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly for three minutes.
- Pour mixture into a prepared tin. A 20cm x 20cm loaf pan works well
- Bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for 30-40 minutes
- Allow to cool in the tin before turning onto a wire rack.
Serve as desired.
