While eating a banana seems to require no explanation, some people may be unaware of the unique taste of a banana's natural flavor. Banana flavor powder is made from extracts of banana fruit and offers a taste similar to banana without eating actual bananas. The main role of banana flavor powder is to enhance food products and make them tastier. In addition, banana flavor powder can be used for cooking, decorating and medication.
Banana flavor powder has been used in various food products since the 1960s. Food manufacturers use banana flavor powder to enhance the taste of ice creams, cakes, pastries and soft drinks. As well as this, some companies use banana flavor powder in place of natural banana flavoring; it helps replace bananas with healthier alternatives. In addition, banana flavor powder can also be used in medicinal applications. Doctors use banana flavor powder to treat digestive and stomach disorders, iritis and gastritis. Further uses include adding to breath fresheners, body sprays and perfumes.
To produce the natural extract used in making banana flavor powder, companies use a process known as sub-transformation. First, the fruit is peeled, crushed and cooked in water until it turns into a puree. Then the fruit pulp is filtered out and dried to produce banana flavor concentrate. The last step is adding natural elements such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and sulfur to produce Natural Banana Flavor Powder or NFP. Some Natural Banana Flavor Powders are also heat treated after extraction to preserve their quality for longer.
Facts and figures about NFP include, million kilograms of banana flavor powder are produced annually in the US, NFP can be used in cooking or added to other foods or beverages, NFP makes it easier to eat healthy food, NFP does not contain any cholesterol or saturated fat compared to real bananas, NFP can help people with certain medical conditions, NFP can reduce allergic reactions caused by certain food additives, NFP contains no artificial colors or flavors and some Natural Banana Flavor Powders are heat treated at higher temperatures than others.
Overall, banana flavor powder has a lot of benefits— it tastes great, promotes health and saves time by eliminating the need for actual bananas. Not only that— the natural extract is also useful in medical applications such as treating stomach complaints. Since not many people understand the role bananas play in our diet, adding a bit of banana flavor powder can help increase awareness of this healthy ingredient.