Cured banana leaves that can be kept long

In an eco-friendly measure against the environmental hazard caused by polythene wrappers, Sri Lanka has evolved a technique to prepare food wrappers from banana leaves.

The Sri Lankan Agriculture Ministry has claimed that it has perfected the technology for making available the all pervading aromatic "cured" banana leaves and to keep it for a longer duration without any change in its colour or quality.

"As a result of an experiment carried out at the Agriculture Research Station, Telijjawila in Southern Sri Lanka, a technique has been perfected to produce cured banana leaves that can be kept for more than one month under refrigerated condition without any changes in colour or quality," the Ministry said.

"People have been using banana leaves to wrap food items since ancient times and this practice is common among the majority of cultures in South Asia," the study said. A meal wrapped in banana leaves has an additional taste as it gives a distinct fragrance. It also keeps the food fresh for a longer time, the report said, adding that the non-availability of these leaves had led to the alternate use of plastics. The polyethylene sheet is a convenient wrapper, but takes more than one year to start degradation, thereby leading to pollution and many other undesirable consequences.

"In addition, these sheets could contain various chemical compounds which may be harmful to humans when exposed for a longer time period," the study said.

Describing the methodology to keep leaves fresh for a long duration, the study said well-grown leaves are trimmed and separated into pieces (45cm x 45cm) excluding the mid rib. These pieces may be rectangular or round in shape depending on the requirement.

- PTI