TEXTURE- It’s a little hard to describe. While eating, the fruit feels smooth but the chew is somewhat brittle, so you get these smooth “chunks” on the initial bite. It blends to be a little creamy as you continue to chew. The banana feels more dense with no fluff, but not as dense as a namwah. The slightly brittle nature decreases as the fruit continue to ripen. This characteristic is a little odd, but it’s probably one of those things most people wouldn’t take the time to notice.
FIRMNESS – More firm than a grocery store Cavendish.
SWEETNESS- Sweet and mellows a bit as it gets riper. I wouldn't eat more than 2-3 at a time when it is actually ripe. The window when it’s sweeter isn't long.
TARTNESS- When fully yellow it can be a bit tart, but as it gets some brown spots the acidity lessens and you can eat it when its “just right”. This seems to be a variety where you've got to time the stage of ripeness to consume fresh out of hand. Nowhere near as time sensitive as pisang raja, but you’ll need to make some mental notes for the next harvest.
RIPENESS- Wait till its fully yellow, otherwise is can be a bit vegetal. I would wait for some brown spots. But you also don’t want to go too far either because it starts reminding me of a potato.
FLAVOR- When timed right, there is a lot of intense flavor in this little banana. When yellow you there is a strong presence of apple, cherry and lime with a hint of typical banana flavor. As it continues to ripen the tart and bright flavors diminish and you experience more of a classic banana flavor with coconut. This is a banana that you have to time the ripeness on to eat it out of hand. Before ripeness there is a vegetal taste and while perfectly ripe you don’t notice it (maybe a hint) because of the overpowering flavors, but as it ripens the fruity flavors diminish, the potato flavor becomes present and increases somewhat in intensity. It’s a little weird eating a mix of tropical fruity flavor and potato. My wife didn't care for it. So far it’s her least favorite out of the yard.
No attempt at cooking green (I just don’t like nanners that way). I like eating these ripe. I did try grilling them like I do with plantains. There were good that way, but I rather eat a plantain from the grocery.
OTHER: The fingers tend to split, so pay attention. It peels fairly easily so that’s nice. Not sure why it’s called “High Noon”. (Maybe it has something to do with eating it at the right time)
GROWING IT: It is a beautiful plant that grows fast and is hardy in my yard. It holds it leaves better than the other verities I grow. Its leaves also seem to be “tougher” as they are a little harder to cut off. I do notice the beginnings of sigtoka now and then, but I just chop off those leaves. Getting well rooted pups has been a little more challenging on this one compared to other varieties. It seems that I have to wait until the pups are a bit bigger. Also I didn't need to support the bunch which is a plus.
OVERALL RATING: 7 I’m not completely satisfied in terms of fruit. I’ll let it grow for a while longer and see if the fruit characteristics improve with the next bunches. My wife wasn't crazy about it, and I can’t eat these all by myself especially with a smaller "ripe window". It is a beautiful plant that grows well so that is helping its score.
SUGGESTED USE: Eat it out of hand if you can get the timing right. I imagine if you like a more savory cooking banana you might enjoy this one. I guess I would label it a dual purpose banana with an emphasis on cooking. But I am not as much of a fan of savory bananas. Give me the sweet ones!!