tanfenton

Hi, y'all.

I'm mostly a lurker but thought that I might emerge from the shadows out of honest curiosity.

I've noticed repeatedly that some of the professional growers who post here have expressed stronger-than-usual opinions about a banana's character. Many fruits that people hold in some esteem in certain parts of the world aren't viewed as fondly elsewhere. Everyone has opinions, right? And the growers' opinions seem to be guided, at least in part, by the response of their patrons. What, therefore, is it that directs this far-away banana-buying public into favoring certain fruits and consigning others to the round-file? Flavor, ripening evenness, keeping quality, versatility? How did the banana-buying public get to be so discerning when the public at large seems so willing to eat-sh**-and-like-it? (I guess I'm wondering, too, what concerns the grower himself might have in devoting land to a certain cultivar.)

N.

robguz24

I wish it wasn't true but I think people stick with what they know. Most people aren't foodies or particularly adventurous eaters. If I was selling my bananas at farmers markets in wealthy parts of the Bay Area I think it would be quite different. Where I live people basically want "Apple bananas" at the market (Brazilians) and in stores they generally get cavendish--either imported or locally grown Williams. I'm always excited by a new banana I have for sale but have trouble selling them even though I do signage with description and try to talk them up. Some loyal buyers will try them, but the majority aren't willing to take a 25¢ risk to try even one. A few types many people who come to my market are familiar with are Reds, Ice Cream, Sucrier, and now occasionally Mysore and Namwah. Beyond that, people have no real idea. Lots of people in my area are interested in places like India and Thailand, so marketing Mysore and Namwah as the main bananas from each place sparks some interest.

It doesn't help that most market sellers here call about 5 types "cooking" banana, and don't know anything about them. These can be Saba, Bluggoe types, Maolis, Hua Moa, etc. Unless they are certain ethnicities, most customers aren't interested in them here and have no clue what to do with them.

On the whole, I'd do better if all I sold was Brazilians. For growers that depend on their banana farming to make a living, that means Brazilians or Williams.

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My micro-farm

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Nicolas Naranja

The cavendish is remarkably uniform and it stays green. In the summer I will harvest Nam Wah on Monday and it will be turning yellow on Wednesday. Cavendish will probably still be kind of green next Wednesday. That is a pretty important characteristic for commercial shippers when the final market is 3 weeks away. Also, pedicel strength is very important. A lot of banana varieties will break at the pedicel when ripe. It's a major problem with FHIA-1. Also some varieties have a tendency to split open. Manzano is actually a terrible variety for shipping but there is enough demand to deal with it. It splits, it breaks at the pedicel, and you can't eat it until it is turning black. If we had a lot more southeast asians in this country you might see Nam Wah be a bigger variety in the grocery stores.

The other thing about Cavendish is it out yields just about everything else. I rarely harvest a bunch of Cavendish under 40 lbs. For Nam Wah, I am very happy with a 40 lbs bunch.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

tanfenton

Thanks for sharing, guys. I love it that you thought enough of what might have once been only a hobby to have made it some part of your livelihood. Massive props! I hope we keep chipping away at peoples' habits until one day they're willing to go home with more than just any ol' banana.

N.