Caramelized Banana Paste

cropped phone picture of Caramelized Banana Paste

Accidentally made a tasty smoky banana paste this morning

Preparation time
1 min
Cooking time
8 mins
Yield
1 serving

Ingredients

  • 1 banana (organic optional but preferred)
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 – 2 tsp water or almond milk
  • ½ tsp molasses to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. with a spoon, slice banana into thirds or coins into a 12 – 16 oz microwaveable cup
  2. add cinnamon and water or almond milk to the cup
  3. microwave at 100% power for 66 s, 30% for 99 s, 20% for 3:33 minutes
  4. stir for 20 s, ensuring banana paste sticks to the bottom and bottom walls of the cup
  5. microwave at 100% for 99 s
  6. stir
  7. if you want the paste to be less liquidy, microwave at 30% for 99 s
  8. if you want the paste to taste smokier, microwave at 60% for 99 s
  9. stir in molasses to taste if desired (recommended)

how do I use this??

I use this as a precursor to oatmeal. When rolled oats and water is mixed in and left to soak for a few minutes, the resulting liquid can be squeezed out as banana oat milk. The leftover oats have a texture similar to overnight oats.

You can also eat it straight or on top of vanilla ice cream after cooling it for a few minutes. Stirring willl accelerate its cooldown.

Stirring in a bit of molasses at the last step will impart a smokey honey flavor to the banana paste.

caramel banana candy

stir in molasses. when the banana paste is dough-like and no longer runny, cool it down to near room temperature and wrap it in wax paper or candy wrappers. Refrigerate for 40 minutes or more to make soft caramel banana candy.

banana milk

stir in 1 tsp of molasses and slowly stir in 8 oz of your favorite milk (oat milk & soy milk preferred). blend the mixture in a blender for 20 s. stir in 5 – 10 grains of salt and ½ tsp of vanilla extract (optional but highly recommended). This is already perfectly slightly sweet: adding 2 drops of stevia enhances the sweetness even more.

Nutrition Facts

in grams per serving

Calories
100
Fat
0
Carbohydrates
25
Protein
1
cuisine
American
diet
vegan
category
dessert
keywords
banana, fruit, paste, topping

experiments

  • adding a splash of soymilk at step 4: stir resulted in sweet fluffy similar to sweet potato but less caramelized taste. Needed more drying cycles.
  • soymilk instead of water at step 2: much richer and sweeter taste. adds 2–4 calories. may need an additional drying cycle.

future experiments

  • rum instead of water, or add rum at one of the last steps
  • vary protein/fat/salt at different stages of heating
  • a few drops of vanilla at the end to simulate rum
  • ginger or cardamom in the beginning to simulate an alcoholic bite

why did my banana turn pink??

you added too much water. long term cooking in lower temperatures polymerizes leucoanthocyanidins into anthocyanins. we are aiming for caramelization (maillard reaction) at higher temperatures. your banana will taste fruitier

why is my banana burnt!?

forgot to add water, not enough water, or too much cooking time/ too high power. maybe you want to create a smoky flavor, but not at the cost of creating acrylamides.