Cooking banana in the context of "Musa (genus)"

A banana is an elongated, edible fruit—botanically a berry—produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing them from dessert bananas. The fruit is variable in size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a peel, which may have a variety of colors when ripe. It grows upward in clusters near the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible seedless (parthenocarp) cultivated bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, or their hybrids.

Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia; they were probably domesticated in New Guinea. They are grown in 135 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make banana paper and textiles, while some are grown as ornamental plants. The world's largest producers of bananas in 2022 were India and China, which together accounted for approximately 26% of total production. Bananas are eaten raw or cooked in recipes varying from curries to banana chips, fritters, fruit preserves, or simply baked or steamed.

True plantains are a group of cultivars of the genus Musa (bananas and plantains) placed in the African Plantain subgroup of the AAB chromosome group. Although "AAB" and "true plantain" are often used interchangeably, plantains are the most popular varieties among the AABs. The term "plantain" can refer to all the banana cultivars normally eaten after cooking rather than raw (see cooking banana), or it can refer to members of other subgroups of Musa cultivars such as the Pacific plantains, although in Africa little to no distinction is made between the two since both are commonly cooked. True plantains are divided into four groups based on their bunch type: French, French Horn, False Horn and Horn plantains.

Each bunch type has a variety of cultivars associated with it:

Ital, also spelled I-tal (/ˈaɪtɑːl/), is food often celebrated by those in the Rastafari movement. It is compulsory in the Bobo Ashanti and Nyabinghi mansions, though not in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The word derives from the English word "vital", with the initial "v" removed. This emphasis on the letter "I" is done to many words in the Rastafari vocabulary to signify the unity of the speaker with God and all of nature. The expression of Ital eating varies widely from Rasta to Rasta, and there are few universal rules of Ital living.

The primary goal of adhering to an Ital diet is to increase liveliness. The life energy that Rastafari generally believe lives within all human beings, as conferred from the Almighty, is referred to as Livity. A common tenet of Rastafari beliefs is the sharing of a central Livity among living things, and what is put into one's body should enhance Livity rather than reduce it. Though there are different interpretations of ital regarding specific foods, the general principle is that food should be natural, or pure, and directly from the earth; Rastafari therefore often avoid food which is chemically modified or contains artificial additives (e.g., colour, flavourings, and preservatives). Some also avoid added salt in foods, especially salt with the artificial addition of iodine, while pure sea or kosher salt is eaten by some. In strict interpretations, foods that have been produced using chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizer are not considered ital. Early adherents adopted their dietary laws based on their interpretation of several books of the Bible, including the Book of Genesis ("Then God said, 'I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food'. (Genesis 1:29)), the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Along with growing dreadlocks and the sacramental smoking of ganja, observing a vegetarian diet is one of the practices early Rastafari adopted from Indian indentured servants living in Jamaica. Rastafari's founder, Leonard Howell, affectionately called "Gong" and "Gyangunguru Maragh", though not of Indian descent, was fascinated with Hindu practices and was instrumental in promoting a plant-based diet in the Rastafari community of Pinnacle.

A banana chip (sometimes called banana crisp) is a deep-fried or dried, generally crispy slice of banana. It is usually made from firmer, starchier banana varieties (cooking bananas or plantains) like the saba and Nendran cultivars. It can be sweet or savory and can be covered with sugar, honey, salt, or various spices.

Banana chips are the only processed banana product with significant international trade. The main exporter of banana chips worldwide is the Philippines. Export markets for banana chips are also established in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.