The bananas which are imported from Jamaica and Central America are represented by the analyses given above. They are commonly known as the Johnson banana. Smaller fruits with better flavors are grown in Cuba,—some of them are of a red color like the oronoco and colorado. The indiano is a large, yellow, angular fruit with a salmon-colored pulp and a rather disagreeable acid flavor.
With reference to the banana as a food product it is seen that, including the starch and digestible cellulose, it consists of at least 25 percent, in its edible portion, of carbohydrates suitable for food purposes. Its low content of protein indicates that it is not a well balanced ration, but should be eaten in connection with beans, peas, or other vegetables rich in protein, or with lean meat in order to secure a proper quantity of protein in the diet.
On account of the great abundance of the product and luxuriance of growth in the Central American states, it is evident that the banana might become a profitable source of industrial alcohol in that locality.
Cashew (Maranon) (Anacardium occidentale).
—The cashew, of which the principal habitat is Cuba, is a small, oddly shaped, yellow and red fruit from two to three inches long and from 1⁄2 to two inches in diameter at the bottom, decreasing gradually in diameter toward the top. The seed is small and kidney-shaped and grows outside of the fruit at the lower end. The seed is regarded as poisonous until it has been roasted, due probably to the presence of hydrocyanic acid. After roasting it is regarded as a delectable edible. The meat of the seed of the cashew resembles the roasted chestnut, but contains more oil. The pulp is of a dull yellow color, is tough and very juicy, with an acid astringent flavor and a disagreeable odor. The fruit is not eaten raw but chiefly in preserves. The composition of the cashew is shown in the following table:
Composition of Edible Portion
—85.9 percent.—
| Solids, | 12.84 | percent |
| Sugar, | 6.76 | „ |
| Acid, | .31 | „ |
| Ash, | .36 | „ |
The composition is somewhat like that of the hicaco, but the cashew contains a larger proportion of acid and hence is better suited for preserves. The sample of cashew preserves examined had the following composition:
| Solids, | 71.22 | percent |
| Sugar, | 66.89 | „ |
| Protein, | .26 | „ |
| Acidity, | .08 | „ |
| Ash, | .14 | „ |