Preparation of banana figs.

'Banana figs' is a popular name for the dehydrated
ripe bananas-whole or cut into halves.
Methods recommended in literature for the dehydration
of ripe bananas employ pre-treatments
like exposure to sulphur dioxide fumes\ dipping
,n sulphurous acid,2 dipping in sodium chloride
or carbonate solutions3
, and dipping in thiourea
solutions\ to get a product of good quality.
The colour, appearance and keeping quality of
the commercially marketed banana figs have
generally been found to be poor. The present
paper describes the results of an investigation
undertaken to standardize conditions for the
dehydration of some Indian varieties of bananas
to' get high class banana figs, with improved
keeping qualities.