View Full Version : Tastiest banana?
NotherNana
05-13-2009, 07:39 PM
Hi crew,
I have been here a week or so, reading through old posts to learn about the gang, as well as new things I didn't know about bananas. My wife is much better at internet than me, I am just learning, so please bear with me. :)
I would like to ask the question of you, and you may have already made this thread somewhere, but as mentioned, slow on internet right now and just figuring all this stuff out basically. If so, please give me link. (she uploads pics for me, to let you know my capabilities to date)
to question:
What is YOUR own favorite species of banana fruit, and why? Can you describe taste? Of course cavendish is the favorite import commercially, but to know what real experts on bananas think would be quite an interesting read to me. Thanks guys and girls. :)
Gino
alpha010
05-13-2009, 08:26 PM
Out of the 3 or 5 varieties my wife and I have tried, Manzano has us hands down. The only drawback to those are the size, just little guys about 3 inches or less when peeled but very nice flavor. Jamaican reds weren't bad but we liked the store bought Gran nain better than those.
My 2 cents.
Shaggy
lorax
05-13-2009, 08:42 PM
Oritos, which belong to the Sucrier group. They're 2-5 bites big, round, straight fingers with firm amber flesh, and they're sweet with a tropical fruit bouquet and a lingering vanilla aftertaste.
Running a close second, Rosaditos (a Jamaican Red x Orito hybrid) and Limones (which we suspect are either Monticristi or Orinoco.) Shaggy, Reds are better fresh off the tree, when the skin is almost purple.
Gabe15
05-13-2009, 08:53 PM
One of the best I have had is an African diploid called 'Muraru Mshale', it is thick and creamy but very firm with a strong banana flavor, similar to 'Gros Michel' but with a bit more of a general fruity flavor about it. Another favorite is an East African Highland banana called 'Mbwazirume', it is great cooked and raw when ripe, it is soft but firm with an interesting tang. However, I've never had a banana I didn't like and generally just take note of their differences rather than rank them by preference.
chong
05-13-2009, 09:03 PM
For me, Seņorita and Lacatan for dessert bananas. Saba and Praying Hands for cooking bananas. In both cases, flavor and texture are better than any other that I've tasted.
NotherNana
05-13-2009, 09:18 PM
I love plantains. I'm Italian, I suppose you can guess by name, :) but love Spanish cooking...very flavorful. When Nichole and me moved to Miami, I was introduced to Cuban food, and the flavors are exquisite, to say the least. Same with Mexican....which we run into more on the west coast of Florida, where we are now.
I've noticed each of you have particular tastebuds, which is what I'd really hoped for. (Variety is the spice of life)
Nichole took care of a huge parrot farm years ago, and during that time, learned how intense their tastebuds were, I think she told me one of the closest in amount to as human. So they all had their own favorite foods too.
(This paragraph in relation to all the different banana species you have chosen
as favorite. :) )
I eat bananas every single day too. I lost mine through freakish weather here last winter, and have been busy with carvings so have only begun to garden again. I am going to have to replace many, i really did not expect the weather we had and nothing was protected. Miss my ice cream, but think it's going to come back. :)
Gino
just j
05-13-2009, 09:28 PM
One of the best I have had is an African diploid called 'Muraru Mshale', it is thick and creamy but very firm with a strong banana flavor, similar to 'Gros Michel' but with a bit more of a general fruity flavor about it. Another favorite is an East African Highland banana called 'Mbwazirume', it is great cooked and raw when ripe, it is soft but firm with an interesting tang. However, I've never had a banana I didn't like and generally just take note of their differences rather than rank them by preference.
dont mean to pirate this thread but gabe that makes me jeolous i want to try all these bananas that i never heard of i just hope i see a bloom on my gros michel this year its getting big and i dont know if the stems get fat on these before they flower or not but mine is fat the base is a little smaller than a ice cream bucket and it put out 4 pups about a foot tall and 2 more comin out of the ground if you got any indept info on it PM me please i have looked around but cant find nothing i dont already know (sorry about jumping in here and changing the subject if anyone has coments just pm me)
Tog Tan
05-13-2009, 09:34 PM
Well Gino good thread you have started here. Nice to know what the folks like. Here's my favs from Msia.
My personal line up for dessert 'naner which is on the top of my list gotta be;
Pisang Rastali. This is a medium size fruit up to 5+inches. It is not overly sweet but has a nice acidic tang. The pulp is slightly on the firm side when fully ripen. It is easy to recognised as when it ripens, it's dark with sugar spots and streaks. This is more apparently in the kampong heirloom version like in the pix. Dessert type.
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16148><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=16148&size=1 border=0></a>
Next is the Pisang Awak which is a plump 6+inch fruit. The pulp is not overly sweet when fully ripen but extremely buttery. It is both dessert and cooking type. I enjoy it very much when simmered in butter.
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=17322><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=17322&size=1 border=0></a>
For cooking type, my fav is the Pisang Nangka (Nangka as in Jackfruit in Malay). Not a good looker but it has a unique aroma reminiscent of the jackfruit. Fruit size is around 8+in, slender. Pulp is tangy if eaten ripe but very sweet and still aromatic when cooked. In order to savour the flavour to the fullest, I do not use any batter when cooking it, just butter.
<a href=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16146><img src=http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=16150 border=0></a>
NotherNana
05-13-2009, 09:50 PM
I also love it when Nichole only cooks the plaintains (you call cooking types?) in butter. I hate the batter! And details on types for dessert, cooking etc...help me too. Thank you also for the pictures Tog :)
Gino
Spark
05-13-2009, 11:12 PM
Man. I've never had anything but the plain old store-bought cavendish. Obviously I need to broaden my horizons! (Which hopefully will eventually include the bananas I'm planting giving me fresh fruit. *crosses fingers*)
Are there any places to go where you can order some of these bananas online? I'd love to try a few varieties, but I kind of doubt there are any local places to go for them. Though I may check out the Market of Choice, they're kind of hippie/yuppie/trendy and have odd fruits sometimes. Mostly their thing is stuff that's locally grown, but I might luck out...
NotherNana
05-13-2009, 11:24 PM
Spark,
I have tasted a few of the other varieties, my 'ice cream' is great...well...'was'... :) that's why i asked about other people's opinions on their own tastes. And I want to experiment too :)
Gino
alpha010
05-14-2009, 02:51 PM
Google search "purchase tropical fruit online" or something to that effect, only catch is that it is dreadfully expensive and the cheapest place I found, I still paid almost 40 bucks for 2 hands of manzanos, 1 asian guava, and 4 caimitos. Which if I was able to pick it up would have only costed me around 12 bucks.
Shaggy
NotherNana
05-14-2009, 03:19 PM
ailpha010,
I would actually spend the money on the plant(s)...my wife taught me that years ago. :) She never liked me to bring her flowers...said she wanted the 'roots attached'...so anytime I think of flowers, fruit, flora, fauna,...it has to be biologically living :). I hope soon I can do trading here on this board, am waiting for some of my plants to become viable enough to do this...maybe we could trade? :) Where do you live, what do you grow? (besides bananas, of course)
Gino:woohoonaner:
edited; i DO want to know the tastes though, it will educate me moreso on the plants I wish to replace, and understand your above post :)
momoese
05-14-2009, 03:30 PM
My favorate thus far is Pisang Klotek. It has a very distinct Pineapple after taste.
lorax
05-14-2009, 05:09 PM
Spark, if you've ever eaten the bananas from Chiquita, you've had Gran Nain too...
alpha010
05-14-2009, 06:22 PM
manzanos are small bananas in hands of around 12-18 and are nicely sweet with a fruity aftertaste. Caimito is commonly called STAR APPLE is generally green or purple and has a sweet plummy/citrus taste to me and is not to be confused with carambola which is STAR FRUIT. Asian guava that I tried was horrid! I may have tried it before it was properly ripe, but it was extremely astringent, the scent when cut almost made my eyes water. It was like sticking my face in a tank of witch hazel and rubbing alcohol mixed.
Anyways, most of the fruit I order are basically a try before you buy type deal. I try the fruit, and if my family and I even just like it, then I will try to grow it. My big fruit drawback is that I live in zone 5b/6a and 95% of exotic plants (especially fruit trees) will perish in my weather. But that doesn't necessarily stop me. I am currently growing 1 dwarf cavendish banana, 1 ice cream banana, 1 double mahoi banana, 1 dwarf lady finger banana, 1 medium sized garden with about 20 varieties of left side of normal veggies, germinating passiflora incarnata "maypop" passion fruit, japanese barberry, and recently found growing in my weeds are wild blackberries. As to tastes....not sure yet, I'll get back to you on those.
bigdog
05-14-2009, 06:44 PM
Asian guava that I tried was horrid! I may have tried it before it was properly ripe, but it was extremely astringent, the scent when cut almost made my eyes water. It was like sticking my face in a tank of witch hazel and rubbing alcohol mixed.
:ha: I thought the same thing when I tried it in Thailand last year! I'd only tried guava when it was nice and soft and yellow. This guava in Thailand was much bigger and hard, and the taste was just about like you described, lol...all except for the watery eyes.
To stay on topic, I still think the best that I've tried are the old grocery store bananas. Of course, I've only tried a few, such as Jamaican Red, Pisang Mas, Orinoco, Kluay Khai, Namwah, and FHIA-03 Sweetheart. There may be another one or two that I'm forgetting. Hey, now that I look at the list I just wrote, I wonder why I said "I've only tried," lol. That's not a bad list! But like Gabe said, it's hard to put one ahead of another, since they are all unique in their own way. I really wasn't too impressed with the Jamaican Red though. The Pisang Mas I had this morning (well, the three I had this morning) was almost too sweet. We even grow Dwarf Cavendish at school, and had over 100 fruits from it last year. I still think the one from the grocery store was better!
Frank
momoese
05-14-2009, 07:12 PM
That's wierd Frank. I think the worst banana to come from my garden was way better than any grocery store banana, including my Dwarf Cavendish, of which I just got through eating several a few moments ago! I've never been a fan of overly ripe bananas, actualy with the ones from the store I like them a bit green, but the Cavendish from my garden are awesome when fully ripe! To each their own I guess.
PS: I just remebered I didn't much care for Orinocos. Bleh, like fluffy half sweet cake.
bigdog
05-14-2009, 08:48 PM
That's wierd Frank. I think the worst banana to come from my garden was way better than any grocery store banana, including my Dwarf Cavendish, of which I just got through eating several a few moments ago! I've never been a fan of overly ripe bananas, actualy with the ones from the store I like them a bit green, but the Cavendish from my garden are awesome when fully ripe! To each their own I guess.
PS: I just remebered I didn't much care for Orinocos. Bleh, like fluffy half sweet cake.
Yeah, I'm Weird Frank! Been called worse I suppose, lol. The other bananas I've tried were good, I just still like the taste of the store bananas the best. Then again, it's the store-bought (Gran Nain?) that I eat everyday, and the others are few and far between. I'll be getting to try some Veinte Cohol bananas in a couple of months (or less), so maybe they will change my mind. I guess if I lived in Cal or Fla and had fruit hanging from my plants all of the time, it would be a different story, lol.
Frank
NotherNana
05-17-2009, 05:15 AM
For the sake of learning more from you wonderful folks, and at same time showing my ignorance, is the 'Gran Nain' you speak of the 'Cavendish' ...or are they two different plants? Thanks in advance, :)
Gino
lorax
05-17-2009, 09:30 AM
They are. 'Gran Nain' is the banana that is monocultured by Chiquita (formerly United Fruit) now that 'Gros Michel' is defunct for export. 'Cavendish' are from other companies, largely Dole and Turbana and Feijoo/Fyffes.
I find that 'Gran Nain' are a bit mealier, and 'Cavendish' are mooshier. Superficially, the fruit looks almost identical. I don't really care for either of them, after having tried the local varieties. The two varieties became the 'Gros Michel' replacements because they ship well, not because they're particularly tasty.
Here are some examples from the IBS galleries.
Gran Nain - from Bananimal's gallery
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=13506&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=13506&si=gran nain)
Cavendish - from my gallery
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=4503 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=4502&ppuser=952)
musaboru
05-17-2009, 11:18 AM
I am growing Dwarf Namwah, Kluay Khai (Pisang Mas), and plan to get Manzano for the apple-like flavor as described.
Kluay Khai is highly regarded in Cambodia for its flavor (they call it Chek Pong Moan) and Namwah is considered second rate there. I can't really describe the flavor sorry but I thought this might be of interest. I have yet to really try them myself except for Namwah.
Although my favorite of the store bought bananas is the baby bananas, I don't really know what cultivar is that.
NotherNana
05-17-2009, 11:59 AM
Beth,
Thank you very much for the photographs and explanation. Just another reason to have found this board. I would have never known the differrence. :)
Gino :)
sunfish
07-13-2011, 10:39 PM
Bump
oakshadows
07-14-2011, 08:32 AM
Do you think that location and fertilizer have much to do with how the banana tastes? I have found that what I grow is much different in taste than the same from local markets and storer bought. Have also gottem tomatoes from a hydroponic farm and truthfully thought they tasted terribler. Does organic taste better than N P K grown.
Nicolas Naranja
07-14-2011, 03:27 PM
I would argue that the main cause of this taste difference has to do with the shipping and ripening. It may take 2 weeks for a banana to get from a plant in Ecuador to your house. All that time it is kept cool, which doesn't allow for the development of much flavor. Underfertilized bananas will not develop correctly and may have internal problems. The main reason your homegrown banana taste better is because it is fresh. Also your standard cavendish bananas are picked at 3/4 full, while you yourself may wait for one or two to ripen on the bunch before picking. Hang time is another factor in taste
Do you think that location and fertilizer have much to do with how the banana tastes? I have found that what I grow is much different in taste than the same from local markets and storer bought. Have also gottem tomatoes from a hydroponic farm and truthfully thought they tasted terribler. Does organic taste better than N P K grown.
saltydad
07-14-2011, 03:46 PM
Next year I want to try Manzano and Ice Cream. They will be kept in pots for easier transfer inside for the winter. I really want to taste these!
oakshadows
07-14-2011, 03:59 PM
Wishing you luck. Our climate is a bit warmer but we will have many in containers also. It is so amazing how fast I got hooked on growing banansa.
island cassie
07-14-2011, 07:19 PM
Well - with bananas being vegetatively reproduced - it depends which strain you have as to the flavour! My dwarf orinoco were so poor that I rooted them out! But my tall orinoco are obviously from a superior strain. as the fruit ,when ripe, is the most delicious available and is in great demand even here where bananas grow wild by the wayside! Ice Cream are ok but I found them to be dissappointing and Manzano are not bad either - but Orito are amazingly delicious. I think it all depends on the strain you get.
venturabananas
07-15-2011, 10:27 AM
Cassie, thanks for the comment. I had forgotten that you viewed your dwarf Orinoco as subpar. It's amazing that two such closely related plants (DO and O) could make such different fruits.
island cassie
07-20-2011, 03:34 AM
The other thing you need to take into consideration is that the different species need to ripen fully - you can't cut them or eat them before they are fully ripe unlike the bananas you buy in the store which some folks eat before they turn yellow and speckled! The Oritos, Reds, Manzano etc need to be fully ripe before they reveal how delicious they really are.
hydroid
07-20-2011, 09:07 AM
My limited experience found that the best for me was Manzano which I got from a store in Galveston, Tx. and a close second was a Dwarf Cavendish which was broken and on the side of the road in Bermuda, they were awesome. I tried quite a few Brazilian while I was working in Brazil but found them to be inconsistant and a little disapointing, but they were all store bananas.
In a day or so, I will be able to try my home grown Raja Puri and I am excited about that.
The folks at Going Bananas recommended the "Dwarf Namwah" for my area and I was able to get a couple from bananimal this year, so maybe next year I can try the Dwarf Namwah also.
My Dwarf Cavendish and Goldfinger did not fare good this past year due to the cold weather, so I don't think I will try growing a Manzano either. It's just too cold here.
Bo
bananimal
07-20-2011, 10:47 AM
Bo ----------- Really enjoyed my first time bunch of fruit from the Manzano last year. It's a keeper. No main stem for this year cause of overspray damage from lawn irrigation. Same for Hua Moa -- both have just pups. The cold also slowed down recovery on these two.
Hope you planted the Dwf Namwah with lots of room to expand. The mat will take over if you let more than 1 or 2 main pstems fruit for the year. Each of the 4 big pstems I let run last year and cut down has produced 3 crops, FROM EACH CORM, of 5 or 6 pups so far in 2011.
hydroid
07-20-2011, 12:35 PM
Dan- The Namwahs have plenty of room to run. They are over 3 ft. tall now and look great. They also look a little different from the rest of my bananas. I can't wait to taste them next season. I will be thinning the herd next year. Thanks once again.
Bo
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