The above data show that the alligator pear is not a fruit which is very highly nutritious. Its principle nutrient is fat, the next most important being starch and sugar, but it is extremely deficient in protein, and therefore could not be regarded as a balanced ration. Its principle value, therefore, is mostly on account of its condimental properties rather than for its nutrients. Bulletins 61 and 77 of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, give important information regarding the avocado. The accompanying [illustration] is taken from Bulletin 77, above mentioned.
From the amount of fat in the alligator pear it might be regarded as a nut instead of a fruit, but its paucity of nitrogenous constituents excludes it from that category.
Bananas (Musa).
—One of the most abundant and most important of the tropical fruits, for food purposes, is the banana. The banana is not grown to any extent for food purposes in the United States, though it is produced on a limited scale in southern Florida. Immense quantities of bananas come into this country from the Central American states, particularly from Guatemala and Nicaragua. This fruit can be landed at New Orleans at very small expense for transportation, and for this reason can be distributed all over the country at a price which looks to be ridiculously small when it is considered that the fruit comes from so great a distance. It is also sent in large quantities to other ports, notably New York, Boston, and Baltimore. For shipping purposes the banana is gathered while still green, and often the ripening has not reached the stage when the ordinary yellow color which characterizes the ripe fruit is seen when it reaches the markets in the center of the country. The banana is not only valued for its peculiar flavor, which is pleasant and sweet, sometimes almost too much so, but it also has a high nutritive value, being a substance rich in carbohydrates and growing in such abundance that its price is within the reach of the poorest classes. Great quantities of bananas are also grown in Cuba, but they are mostly consumed by the native population, forming one of the principal foods of the island.
Fig. 50.—Avocado Tree.—(Courtesy Department of Agriculture.)
The banana has perhaps less waste than almost any other fruit, as the whole of the inner portion is edible. In the green fruit there is a large proportion of starch, which gradually changes into invert sugar in the ripe fruit. In thoroughly mature bananas the quantity of sugar is relatively high and the quantity of starch correspondingly low. Bananas are not only eaten raw but also fried and in various other forms. The banana is a fruit which, when properly cared for, can be transported over long distances and kept for a long time. When properly prepared the banana forms a nutritious diet, probably equal in value to the same amount of solid matter contained in the common fresh fruits. One hundred grams may be taken as the average weight of the banana, although some of them are very much larger. About 70 percent of the banana is edible and 30 percent inedible, that is, the skin, which while not wholly inedible is usually rejected. The banana is essentially a carbohydrate food, the percentage of protein not usually rising above 1.3. Nearly all the carbohydrates in the ripe fruit consist of sugars which are present both as reducing and as cane sugars. The average total percentage of sugar present in the banana is a little over 20.
The composition of the banana is shown in the following table which contains the data of analyses of two samples bought in the open market in Washington.
| Edible Portion. | Solids. | Total Sugars. | Protein. | Ash. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | Percent. | |
| Sample 1, | 62.10 | 26.13 | 21.71 | 1.13 | .84 |
| Sample 2, | 64.50 | 26.24 | 21.76 | 1.21 | .86 |
The analytical data were obtained upon the edible portion and not upon the whole fruit.