If you eat them too early, manzanos will be very astringent. In other words, they will taste
terrible. DO NOT consume them when they are yellow. You need to wait until they start to get some black spots. You'll know they are ready when the peel starts to crack. The stem should look wrinkly to the point that the banana will peel itself if you hold it upside down by the stem. If you eat them at that point, I'm sure you will agree that they are some of the best tasting nanners out there.
If they are still green, you are about one week away.
Here are some photos of some recently purchased manzanos. I bought these about 3 days ago and they are still not ready. Notice one has a crack, but the skin is still too thick and yellow. So, cracking is not the most important indicator.. peel "texture" is.
The banana on the far left is the closest to being ready. Notice the black on the stem at the point where the stem meets the banana. Once that wrinkles down a bit(a day or two), it is ready.
