Ecuador chefs showcase banana’s culinary versatility

Guayaquil, Ecuador, Nov 5 (EFE).- What in many countries is a simple fruit, the banana reveals its full culinary versatility in Ecuador, where it is prepared in every possible way—from breakfast to dessert—and reinvented through creative techniques and unexpected combinations as the star ingredient in dishes like empanadas and ceviche.

Several professional chefs showcased the banana’s sensory range during “Banana Cooking,” a live cooking exhibition held as part of Banana Time 2025, the flagship event of Ecuador’s banana industry and the largest of its kind in the Americas, organized annually by the Ecuadorian Banana Exporters Association (AEBE) in Guayaquil.

“We tend to pigeonhole it, but it has so many characteristics that it can truly be used in any type of preparation, and it always contributes something good,” chef Xavier Estévez of the Escuela de los Chefs told EFE. He prepared a fish ceviche where banana served as a modulator of acidity.

For this dish, Estévez used the fruit in its entirety—both peel and pulp—in different forms and textures to complement and enhance the characteristic flavor of the coastal classic. “You can do wonders with banana,” he said.

Zero waste

Chef Igor Burlutskiy, a professor and researcher at the same culinary school, emphasized the potential of green banana, which is little used in Ecuadorian cuisine but has great promise.

Burlutskiy used his “Banana Cooking” demonstration to highlight the benefits of a simple fermentation process that can be done at home.

“Through fermentation we can obtain a product with greater nutrient and vitamin bioavailability. It also reduces sugar levels and removes pesticides. You just submerge the product in salted water for 48 hours,” he explained.

Fermenting the peel, he added, makes it possible to use the entire fruit without waste. He demonstrated chewy candies made from fermented peel paste, which can also be used in jams and oven-baked sauces.

“The main benefit is sustainability, since a product that would otherwise be discarded can be transformed into something bioavailable,” he said.

Great versatility

Meanwhile, Luis Cedeño, director of the LCA Culinary Academy, showed how green banana can be part of contemporary cuisine by using it to prepare repe, a traditional soup from the Andean province of Loja, and as the base for crepes filled with roasted pork.

“It’s for those who want to make different recipes with another twist, because even though the banana is green, when you cook it, it softens quickly but still releases its sweet tones. It doesn’t need to ripen to taste sweet,” he said.

“In fact, the green banana variety we have in Ecuador is one of the best—it’s even the one exported,” he added.

Cedeño urged more chefs to experiment with green banana recipes or invent their own. “The more people know it, the more they use it,” he said.

“It’s a very versatile fruit, and Ecuador is one of the countries that gets the most out of its produce. We’re a small nation, but one that applies a wide variety of techniques and products in every region,” Cedeño noted.

Bread and ice cream

The culinary director added that in many countries, banana and plantain are used mainly to make chips or flour, but not for tortillas, empanadas, or other preparations that “are common in Ecuador.”

“It’s important for the public to see that you can make many kinds of recipes with the same product—from green to ripe, even using the peel,” he said.

Throughout the day, other chefs used bananas to make healthy breads, feature them in avant-garde dishes, and even turn them into ice cream. EFE

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(photo) (video)

Photo of chef Xavier Estévez of the Escuela de los Chefs speaking while preparing a banana-based ceviche during the “Banana Cooking” event in Guayaquil, Ecuador. EFE/Jonathan Miranda

Chef Luis Cedeño, director of the LCA Culinary Academy, prepares repe lojano (a traditional Andean soup from Ecuador) during the “Banana Cooking” event in Guayaquil, Ecuador. EFE/Jonathan Miranda

Chef Xavier Estévez of the Escuela de los Chefs shows a banana-based ceviche during the “Banana Cooking” event in Guayaquil, Ecuador. EFE/Jonathan Miranda

Professor and researcher Igor Burlutskiy of the Escuela de los Chefs speaks while showing a container of fermented bananas during the “Banana Cooking” event in Guayaquil, Ecuador. EFE/Jonathan Miranda

What in many countries is a simple fruit, the banana reveals its full culinary versatility in Ecuador, where it is prepared in every possible way—from breakfast to dessert—and reinvented through creative techniques and unexpected combinations as the star ingredient in dishes like empanadas and ceviche.

DURATION: 1 minute 31 seconds

What in many countries is a simple fruit, the banana reveals its full culinary versatility in Ecuador, where it is prepared in every possible way—from breakfast to dessert—and reinvented through creative techniques and unexpected combinations as the star ingredient in dishes like empanadas and ceviche.

DURATION: 5 minutes 58 seconds