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Cheap, finger-licking meal few Kenyans know about

Faith Mbogo chops a banana heart at her farm in Kirigi area, Embu North sub-county. She makes stew from the heart which many folks dismiss as just animal feed. (PHOTO: JOSEPH MUCHIRI/STANDARD)

A banana heart (inflorescence) meal is not a favourite of many people in Kenya. The cone-shaped, purple heart, which hangs forlornly at the end of a banana bunch is not considered as a food component, which explains why it ends up as animal feed.

The purple inflorescence is also used as a lid for water containers in many parts of Kenya. But for Faith Mbogo, a resident of Kirigi near Manyatta Market in Embu North, her family relishes a meal made from the heart, referred to locally as gikoro.

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