Various types of Bananas in Buganda
Bananas are the staple food of Buganda. The traditional name used for green bananas in Buganda is "Matooke". The staple food in Buganda is Matooke. The Matooke is staple to Baganda like rice is to the Chinese.
There are different types of bananas such as the firmer plantains, "Gonja"which are mostly roasted or baked or fried. Others are used to make banana juice, wine and beer nevertheless others are predominantly eaten as snack or dessert. All these types of bananas have different tastes and names.
Bananas are harvested from banana plants, by chopping down the banana tree (aka a pseudostem or trunk). Then, the banana bunch is cut from the tree. Each banana bunch consists of individual bananas or fingers. Likewise, the leaves and fibers are also cut from the tree. Each of these have a specific use as will be explained later in the preparation and cooking the matooke.
Types of bananas and their use:
Green cooking banana (Matooke):
Green or unripe bananas are used mainly for food and are cooked after peeling off the green skin. Peeled matooke are peach colored before they are cooked. After cooking, the matooke develop a distinctive yellow color. There are different types of Matooke that are distinguished by names based on appearance, size and their tastes. Examples are Nakabululu, Nakitembe, Muvubo, Nakyetengu, Kibuzi, Mbwazirume, Musakala, etc.
Plantains (aka Gonja):
Plantains are another cooking type of banana often eaten after roasting, frying or baking. Plantains usually have larger and longer individual bananas or fingers than dessert bananas, group 3. They also contain less sugar.
Ripe Dessert Bananas (Menvu):
Dessert bananas are eaten when ripe and are never cooked. Ripe dessert bananas are soft and sweet and are collectively referred to as Menvu. Dessert bananas have more sugar in them, often eaten when ripe or yellow, such as small bananas called 'Sukali Ndizi' and the big long ones called Bogoya, some of which may be red in color. The leaves of this group especially Ndiizi are the best for the traditional Oluwombo preparation of beef/goat or chicken stew or peanut sauce.
Juice or Brewery bananas:
These types of bananas are mainly the Kayinja, Kisubi or Mbidde which are used for making beer. Locally, the banana fingers are peeled and squeezed to extract a banana juice locally called "omubisi", which can be consumed either fresh or fermented to make a mild to strong alcoholic drink called mwenge bigere or toonto.