How to Steam a Banana

By: Zora Hughes

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Steaming bananas may not be a common way to enjoy them in the U.S., but it's just as easy as steaming any vegetable. The steaming process consists of adding unpeeled, ripe bananas to a steamer basket set above a pot of boiling water. Keeping the peel on allows the bananas to steam in their skins. Once steamed, you can peel the bananas and enjoy them plain as a side dish, or as a dessert sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, or with ice cream.

Step 1

Add a few inches of water to a pot that has a steamer basket insert. Attach the insert to the pot so that the bottom of it is above, but not touching, the water. If you don't have a steamer basket insert, you can also use a colander small enough to fit above the pot, or a double boiler pot if you have one.

Step 2

Chop up your bananas into sections, unpeeled, as needed to fit into your steamer basket. If you are using small bananas, you may not have to cut them into smaller pieces at all -- just cut off the ends.

Step 3

Place the bananas in the steamer basket and bring the water to a boil. Cover and let the bananas steam for 12 to 15 minutes, until the skins have blackened and are starting to split. Remove the bananas from the pot and allow them to cool slightly before peeling.