Husband and wife team Rich Waxman and Cathy Moratto grow spices, vegetables and exotic fruit on three acres in Kalaheo. The couple wholesales to Lawai Valley Mushrooms and Maria Whatmore, who sell at local farmers markets.
What’s growing
Avocado, bananas (apple, Williams), basil, bees, breadfruit, broccoli, cacao, cherry tomatoes, chocolate sapote, clove, curry leaves, dragon fruit, durian, edible hibiscus, figs, Hawaiian chili peppers, heart of palm, kale, lemongrass, lettuce, lime, lychee, macadamia, mamey sapote, mango, mangosteen, Meyer lemon, nasturtium, noni, nutmeg, Okinawan sweet potatoes, onions, oranges, passion fruit, papaya, peanut butter plant, pinto beans, poha berry, pomegranate, sage, scallions, star fruit, sunflowers, Swiss chard, turmeric, vanilla,
WILLIAMS BANANA
Bananas are in the Musaceae plant family, which evolved in Southeast Asia. They grow in a bunch of seven to eight clusters called “hands.” Each hand contains about 10 bananas. The plant is a perennial giant herb because its aerial parts die down to the ground after the growing season, and offshoots growing at the base of the plant, called the sucker, replace the mother plant. A banana plant will fruit once before it dies.
Giant Cavendish, also known as Williams, were named after William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, who acquired an early specimen and developed it for global export. Williams are believed to have first appeared as a tall mutant in a Chinese Cavendish plantation in Australia in 1910. They replaced the Chinese Cavendish and, by the 1950s, became the most widely grown cultivar.
Hundreds of maia, the Hawaiian word for banana, were introduced to Hawaii by Polynesian voyagers. Today, Williams and Brazilians are the two major groups of dessert bananas grown in Hawaii. Williams were introduced in 1953, where it replaced Chinese Cavendish in commercial plantations and also became the third most popular backyard banana (after Chinese Cavendish and Hawaiian Apple).
Season: Flower development is initiated from the true stem underground (corm) nine to 12 months after planting. Fruits mature about 60 to 90 days after flowers first appear. Bananas are available year-round.
What to look for:
Fruit quality is determined by size (length and thickness), evenness of ripening, freedom from blemishes and defects, and the arrangement of the clusters.
Storage
As fruit ripens, sugar content increases while starch content decreases. Green (unripe) bananas can be stored for up to seven days at room temperature. Neither green nor ripe bananas should be refrigerated, or fruit will discolor and flesh will become mealy.
Preparation
Ripe fruit can be used in ice cream, yogurt, cake, bread, nectar and baby food. They can be dried and eaten, or sliced, canned with syrup, and used in baked products, fruit salads, and toppings. Blend with milk to make popsicles or sauté with butter and rum to make Bananas Foster.
Green bananas can be sliced and fried as chips, or dried and ground into flour. Mustard and ketchup can be made from fresh bananas and vinegar and alcoholic beverages can be made from ripe, fermented bananas. Banana flower hearts are used as a vegetable in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods. The flavor resembles that of an artichoke. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible. Banana leaves are used to wrap fish and vegetables before steaming and banana trunks are used for moisture and flavor in an imu (Hawaiian underground oven).
Tip
Ripe bananas can be frozen, in their skin, for later use in shakes, ice cream, or baking.
Health benefits
Bananas are good sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. One medium-sized banana contains more than 400 mg of potassium, which is more than 10 percent of the FDA’s recommended Daily Value. A banana a day may keep the doctor away by preventing high blood pressure and protecting against atherosclerosis.
Kikala Farm produce can be reached at (415) 717-4743.
• Marta Lane, a food writer on Kauai since 2010, offers farm to fork food tours and is the author of Tasting Kauai: Restaurants – From Food Trucks to Fine Dining, A Guide to Eating Well on the Garden Island. Info: TastingKauai.com.
