With love from Japan | Mongee Banana with edible skin
Setsuzo Tanaka, the technical development manager at D&T Farm
Mongee Banana, pronounced as ‘mon-gay’, is a new fruit product from Japan and has an edible peel. The name ‘Mongee’ means ‘incredible’ and is grown by D&T Farm in Japan’s Okayama Prefecture. They use the ‘Freeze-thaw’ awakening method, which allows the tropical fruit to grow in Japans cooler climate.
Mongee Banana with edible skin
The technology D&T Farm uses is their original, which was created as a result of the research by Setsuzo Tanaka, their technical development manager, for a long time as a hobby. The motivation for development is because Setsuzo Tanaka wants to eat banana that is really delicious and safe and secure. The method used is called the ‘freeze-thaw’ awakening method, which mimics the temperatures and growing conditions of the ice age. Ice age banana plants endured long periods of hibernation and grew in temperatures as low as 12 or 13°C. To recreate the environment from 20,000 years ago, farmers at D&T first freeze the banana saplings to -60°C, then thaw them out and replant them. Because of the temperature changes the seedlings grow rapidly, and the banana is much sweeter (it contains 24,8 gram of sugar instead of the average of 18,3 grams in the tropical banana) and it has an edible peel. An added bonus is that the freeze-thaw method does not involve pesticides or genetic modification. The peel is high in vitamin B6, magnesium and tryptophan according to the D&T Farm. The Mongee banana is so rare that only 10 bananas a week go on sale at the fruit corner of department store Tenmanya Okayama. To taste this rare banana, you’ll have to pay 648 yen or 7,50 dollar.
D&T farm has successfully grown and harvested papaya, cacao and cashew nuts using this ‘freeze-thaw’ method. With the result that they attracted the interest of various companies from outside of Japan.
Bron: Springwise
Website: Mongeebanana
