Which banana do your prefer?
 

I have Goldfinger, Raja Puri, Dwarf Cavendish, Ice Cream, Dwarf Namwah. I was windering which of these types that you prefer for taste, I will be moving the pups around once they start pupping. My Goldfinger and Dwarf Cavendish are not as cold hardy as the others. I also need to know which bananas I need to devote most time to winterizing. I thought about getting a Manzano but I hear they are not cold hardy at all. I hear great things about the Raja Puri and Dwarf Namwah.
I tried winterizing this past year and it worked out great for my Raja puri, I already have a bloom.
I would like to know your taste preference. Thanks
Bo

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

They all have different taste characteristics and are good on their own merits. I'll go with Jon (pitangadiego) and say that "I like the one that is ripe".

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Raja Puri for me. Namwah close second.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Namwah for me, but I haven't tried Ice Cream yet. I prefer Raja Puri and Goldfinger over Cavendish, though I eat supermarket Cavendish almost every day, since my own bananas have yet to produce fruit and there's only so many "exotic" bananas you can bum off your friends!

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Tony sunfish gave me some dwarf namwah when I bought some plants, I had never tasted namwah before but man they tasted good, Im glad I bought a dwarf namwah plant from him. I have only had cavendish, namwah, baby, dwarf brazilian

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

:woohoonaner:I like goldfinger!!

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Ecuadorian baby bananas are the most delightful bananas in the world :)

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

I grow Manzano and find they are almost as cold tolerent as D . Namwah. When they are ripe they are yummy because of their apple flavor,

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Manzano does OK for me when it gets cool -- 30's and 40's F during winter. Not as tough as Dwarf Namwah and the other Pisang Awak varieties, but much better than Cavendish and the AA genome ones. And I'd choose to eat a good Manzano over a good Dwarf Namwah every time. But I'd also choose to eat a good Mysore subgroup banana over a Manzano every time!

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

I love store bought cavendish. Yummy the best

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

haha, wow. I've not tried any of my own bananas yet but I would certainly say storebought Cavendish, to me, are among the worst. I had the great luck of trying some Orinoco from a mexican store, and, no matter how ripe I got it - it didn't have the best taste and the funkiest texture, but I'm sure it was picked too early.

Of those listed, comparing to all the reviews I've read on this forum and elsewhere, Namwah always seems to be on top, however Rajapuri's just don't seem to be a common sight for some reason so the competition based on reviews isn't the fairest.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Two years and many bananas later, I would change my answer to Bo's original question. For my tastes now, I'd rank these 5 as follows:
1. Goldfinger
2. Rajapuri
3. Dwarf Namwah / Dwarf Cavendish (tie)
4. Ice Cream

But Dwarf Cavendish doesn't grow well in my climate, so I won't grow it much longer, especially since you can buy Cavendish bananas in any supermarket. I have nearly 100 lbs of ripe Dwarf Namwah right now and I'd rather be eating Goldfinger or Rajapuri. But I'd choose a Mysore banana (Mysore, Pisang Ceylon, or Pisang Klotek) over all of those, and a Brazilian or (DB) would come next.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

The only bananas available to me right now are Cavendish so I have a bias and I love Manzano I use to eat those at home in the island.

What about Gros Michel anyone like those I know there are a few Gros Michel cult like lovers around here.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Not having tried Goldfinger (which I'm sure I'd like since I like DBs), I'd rank them in order as Namwah, Raja Puri, Cavendish, Ice Cream. Of those I would really only want to eat Namwahs on a daily basis. I prefer Mysore, DB, and Gros Michel quite a bit more than any of the 4 on the original thread list that I've tried.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

So what are you comparing store bought cavendish with ?

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

I think one of the reason Namwahs come out on top in a lot of comments is because they are very common and cold hearty, so likely to be grown and tasted by many. For whatever unknown reason, everyone seems to want to grow real Ice Creams, they buy what they think are the real thing, and end up growing and eating Namwahs.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Rob, I think you're right. The question of what you like the flavor of best is different what is best to grow. Dwarf Namwah is a great plant for marginal conditions, where many of us are growing our bananas. Some of the tastier cultivars can't handle those conditions as well.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

I had many "tree-ripened" Cavendish on my recent trip to the Cook Islands. Most were a bit better than the store bought ones available in the US, and some were excellent. I take back most of the bad things I've said about them! Except I'm still getting rid of them from my yard because they are so slow to produce compared to the hardier varieties.

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

I give up

Re: Which banana do your prefer?
 

Well, you already did, right? You don't have any Cavendish bananas growing in your yard, right? :ha: