Production of Pastries from Selected Banana Cultivars

Banana fruit (Musa sp.) is consumed as a major source of carbohydrate for millions of people mostly in the tropics and subtropics. Worldwide, banana is the most wasted fruit; postharvest of the banana fruit records up to 40-60% loss, and this loss may be prevented by converting the green bananas to flour. This study was geared towards the need for an alternative means of flour production in the making of pastries as there exists an over-dependence of pastries made from cassava and cereals flour. Banana cultivars were processed into flour and made into pastries with sensory evaluation carried out afterwards. The sensory evaluation suggests that the pastries made; had moderately good hardness, good crispiness, good flavors, good taste, good texture, good hardness, good crispiness and good color to complement, Other sensory tests show that the pastries had good surface with a very good smell. This study shows that banana flour has the potentials to competing with flours made from common sources for the production pastries and related products.