Bananas thickening cream?

[Tony]

This is one for you brain boxes, I had some cream on chopped up banana earlier and it thickened the cream as though it had been whipped, now my chemistry isn't brilliant but I was wondering why it does this?
is there some enzyme that causes this or the pectin in the fruit, or is it something completely different? I'm leaning to pectin at the moment, but all ears to someone in the know

 

[Opal]

I watched a program last year where they recommended putting bananas (where the skins had turned black) into the freezer instead of throwing them out, they make great ice cream, might have something to do with the thickening, I know zilch btw, of chemistry.

 

[Two Socks]

I guess an explanation could be the high carbohydrate-content of the banana. Mushed banana can be used as a thickener in the same fashion one would use potato-flour or corn-flour (except of course, the dish you`d apply it on would be different) Potato-flour and corn-flour are full of starch, which is also a carbohydrate. I think it could be possible that when the cream comes into contact with the banana, the carbohydrates dissolve into the cream untill it is saturated, leaving you with a very thick cream.

Correct or not, I kind of want a banana now.

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

Magic pure simple magic Tony.

 

[xylaria]

I dont know the answer. However bananas have very long chains of simple sugars, some of these polysaccharides have antiflamitory effect on the bowel. Quite a few other long chain polysaccharides are thickeners. The slime that comes of plantain seeds is due long chain polysaccharides or mucilage as herbalists call it. Plantain seeds left in liquid thicken to a slime. So it would figure that bananas would have the same property. Basically there isn't big deal of chemistry between slime, long chain sugars, and thickeners.

 

[Goatboy]

Apples and bananas have high pectin levels: -
Pectin
Scientific Name: Polysaccharide
Made From: extracted from fruit
Description: Pectin is used for gelling, thickening, and stabilizing. There are three types – low-methoxyl amidated, low-methoxyl, and high-methoxyl. The three types vary in how they behave in the presence of calcium, sugar, and acid. See the cooking issues hydrocolloid primer for much more information.
“It’s important to note that low methoxyl pectins, though they don’t require sugar to set, calcium ions are added for the pectin to polymerize. Calcium Citrate is usually the calcium source used for this purpose.”

Bananas have Low methoxyl pectins: -

Low Methoxy and Low Methoxy Amidated Pectin
Function: Gelling
Gel type: thermo-reversible
Texture: from jam to pâte de fruit texture
Gel temperature: increases with ion concentration, with values ranging from 30°C to 60°C
Hysteresis: negligible
Setting: fast set
PH tolerance: high
Freeze/thaw stable: yes
Ion sensitive: yes, requires calcium to gel, cream has plenty of calcium
Appearance: clear and bright

 

[xylaria]

I have just found out you can use bananas to set jam. i am not sure i would want to, it might taste alright. Wierd. I thought bananas were non-pectin thing, i know differant now.

Sugar chemistry is pretty involved, I am not sure how pectin thickens things but there are quite few other polysaccharides that are thickeners, and do so readly at room temprature. The plant fibrogel comes from, and plantain are closely related to banana. They thicken by absorbing water.

 

[Toddy]

If you make a banana milkshake and put it in the fridge for twenty minutes, it comes out like pudding

I can't eat banana anymore, but I did like it for baking. Mushed ones make great scones and bread.....and it makes great bread even from flour that's not rich in gluten. Generally it's the plantain variety that's used commercially as a thickener though. That said, if you slice bananas up thinly and dry them, then grind them up to flour, they'll keep really well and that flour can be added as a thickener as required.

cheers,
M

 

[Shewie]

Our house smells of fresh banana and dark chocolate muffins, Carol's just finished a batch of 32 to take into work tomorrow. I'm going to snaffle a couple whilst they're still warm once she's gone to bed

 

[British Red]

Pretty much what goatboy and Xylaria said. The basis of most smoothies, the (revolting) nana is a farm for complex polysaccharides. Nanas uniquely have a relatively soft structure and are easily dispersed in other liquids. "Innocent" smoothies are pretty much fruit in nana mush. They are however a pig for brewing with....I have yet to find a pectic enzyme that can break up nana haze. Mash em and feed em to toddlers is more or less their only use

 

[alpha_centaur]

Pretty much what goatboy and Xylaria said. The basis of most smoothies, the (revolting) nana is a farm for complex polysaccharides. Nanas uniquely have a relatively soft structure and are easily dispersed in other liquids. "Innocent" smoothies are pretty much fruit in nana mush. They are however a pig for brewing with....I have yet to find a pectic enzyme that can break up nana haze. Mash em and feed em to toddlers is more or less their only use

What about turning them into bread, then making banana bread beer from that

 

[bilmo-p5]

I have it on good authority that banana skins in your Landrover's gear/transfer box make a good ersatz/stopgap/get-u-home sub. for ep90.

 

[British Red]

What about turning them into bread, then making banana bread beer from that

My special banana beer bread recipe has one adjustment to the standard recipe......

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

My special banana beer bread recipe has one adjustment to the standard recipe......

Would that be the JP90 rocket fuel? If your scumble is anything to go by it must be...

 

[Tony]

Thanks for all the answers guys, I guess it is complicated. So i guess that the pectin leaches out of the bananas quite readily

 

[British Red]

Would that be the JP90 rocket fuel? If your scumble is anything to go by it must be...

Nope substitute a total vacuum for the nana ! I detest nanas

Tony - they are a weird old fruit alright...almost semi gel in form to begin with.

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

That sucks, Banana is one of the few fruits I will go out of my way to eat. What's your beef (or horse substitute) with them?

 

[British Red]

Nothing beyond taste, texture and appearance really . Just don't like em. But then I DO like anchovies....I think I'm the only person who does!

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

You must be some form of mutant Anchovies are the Marmite of the fish world you either love em or hate em. A pizza place in town puts them on Hawaiian pizzas, turns the tasty inedible.

 

[rik_uk3]

Anchovies and Marmite are lovely, tad heavy on the salt content though. Bananas are a truly remarkable food. Not a bad 'treat' for diabetics, taste sweet and are pretty much a slow release form of carbs IIRC.

A nicely done banana fritter...done right what can be wrong with that

Whipped cream, sugar and rum (not for the diabetics) and a banana fritter 'on the side' to dip in the cream is glorious Not made that for ages, its certainly on the cards for somewhere along the line in this house shortly