dissapointed with mystery banana

delonix87 · 07-20-2013, 06:04 AM

Hi
This was my very first banana; I have grown it since I was 10. It was given to me by a family friend who described it as a 'finger banana'. Well, I never tried it before until yesterday. A single fruit on the bunch ripened. I pulled it down and noticed -

- It had no 'banana' smell; no odor at all
- the fruit was distinctly 'triangle' shaped
- The texture was very gooey, like gum
- Apart from being sweet, it had no real taste.

Does this sound like any particular variety? I'm guessing it is a primitive variety. We are in winter now (9 - 18 degrees daily) so I don't know if ripening in winter has caused this insipidness or it is naturally bland.

Any ideas?

The plant grows in a very open clump and stems lean 'out'. Not tight or tidy like Cavendish at all:

sunfish · 07-20-2013, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delonix87

Hi
This was my very first banana; I have grown it since I was 10. It was given to me by a family friend who described it as a 'finger banana'. Well, I never tried it before until yesterday. A single fruit on the bunch ripened. I pulled it down and noticed -

- It had no 'banana' smell; no odor at all
- the fruit was distinctly 'triangle' shaped
- The texture was very gooey, like gum
- Apart from being sweet, it had no real taste.

Does this sound like any particular variety? I'm guessing it is a primitive variety. We are in winter now (9 - 18 degrees daily) so I don't know if ripening in winter has caused this insipidness or it is naturally bland.

Any ideas?

The plant grows in a very open clump and stems lean 'out'. Not tight or tidy like Cavendish at all:

Looks like M.Orinoco. Some people like them some don't

caliboy1994 · 07-20-2013, 02:36 PM

It's good for cooking. Makes excellent tostones.

delonix87 · 07-20-2013, 05:48 PM

It looks like orinocco, except it doesn't have a 'great taste' (no taste just sweet). Odd. Also it was found growing in an old, abandoned area of Australia - I don't know if Orinocco has been here that long

caliboy1994 · 07-20-2013, 05:50 PM

You have to let them get really ripe before they're even comparable to something like Cavendish.

venturabananas · 07-21-2013, 01:22 AM

Yes, definitely a Bluggoe variety like Orinoco.

delonix87 · 07-22-2013, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by venturabananas

Yes, definitely a Bluggoe variety like Orinoco.

So I tried to cook them as plantains (which I have done with real plantains before). Total disaster; the fruit stayed hard as a rock after boiling for an eternity (even though it was nearing ripeness on the tree). Strange; I'll let the rest ripen on the tree and try again; if it still doesn't taste any better I'll be giving it away

caliboy1994 · 07-23-2013, 01:55 AM

Try slicing them up and then frying them while they're green.

shannondicorse · 07-23-2013, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delonix87

- It had no 'banana' smell; no odor at all
- the fruit was distinctly 'triangle' shaped
- The texture was very gooey, like gum
- Apart from being sweet, it had no real taste.

Any ideas?

Delonix,

Based on the pic, I'd guess that this was a prematurely ripened fruit on a stressed bunch of ABB cooking bananas. It happens frequently. Such fruit are often cracked, fibrous, corky or gelatinous and uncharacteristic of the cultivar in general.

This group of bananas, while not epicurean delights as dessert fruit, are far from insipid when fully grown out and ripened.

Keep trying and don't dump the plant. It is considered, though, to be more of a cooking banana. In tropical lands they (like plantains) are always eaten cooked in various ways.

Not to say that many cooking bananas are not quite yummy ripened and raw!

shannon

shannon.di.corse@gmail.com

delonix87 · 07-28-2013, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shannondicorse

Delonix,

Based on the pic, I'd guess that this was a prematurely ripened fruit on a stressed bunch of ABB cooking bananas. It happens frequently. Such fruit are often cracked, fibrous, corky or gelatinous and uncharacteristic of the cultivar in general.

This group of bananas, while not epicurean delights as dessert fruit, are far from insipid when fully grown out and ripened.

Keep trying and don't dump the plant. It is considered, though, to be more of a cooking banana. In tropical lands they (like plantains) are always eaten cooked in various ways.

Not to say that many cooking bananas are not quite yummy ripened and raw!

shannon

shannon.di.corse@gmail.com

I believe you are correct. The fruit was split on one side and the rest of the bunch have stayed green. At least I have something to look forward to with the rest of the bunch

I will probably end up removing it anyway to make room for my Gros Michels

07-20-2013, 02:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
caliboy1994 <div style="font-style: italic;"><div style="font-style: italic;">&lt;div style=&quot;font-style: italic;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt; div style=&amp;quot;font-style: italic;&amp;quot;&amp;gt; Plant alchemist& caliboy1994's Photo Gallery Location: Granada Hills, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA zone 10a; Sunset zone 19 Name: Andreas Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,276 BananaBucks : 216,996 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,457 Times Was Thanked 2,126 Times in 1,133 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 236 Times	Re: dissapointed with mystery banana It's good for cooking. Makes excellent tostones. __________________ "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson Find me on Photobucket here: http://s1061.photobucket.com/profile/musamaniac

07-20-2013, 05:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
delonix87 Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 65 BananaBucks : 46,522 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 53 Times Was Thanked 62 Times in 27 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 5 Times	Re: dissapointed with mystery banana It looks like orinocco, except it doesn't have a 'great taste' (no taste just sweet). Odd. Also it was found growing in an old, abandoned area of Australia - I don't know if Orinocco has been here that long

07-20-2013, 05:50 PM	#5 (permalink)
caliboy1994 <div style="font-style: italic;"><div style="font-style: italic;">&lt;div style=&quot;font-style: italic;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt; div style=&amp;quot;font-style: italic;&amp;quot;&amp;gt; Plant alchemist& caliboy1994's Photo Gallery Location: Granada Hills, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA zone 10a; Sunset zone 19 Name: Andreas Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,276 BananaBucks : 216,996 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,457 Times Was Thanked 2,126 Times in 1,133 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 236 Times	Re: dissapointed with mystery banana You have to let them get really ripe before they're even comparable to something like Cavendish. __________________ "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson Find me on Photobucket here: http://s1061.photobucket.com/profile/musamaniac

07-21-2013, 01:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
venturabananas venturabananas's Photo Gallery Location: Ventura, CA Find me on the map! Zone: 10 Name: Mark Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 2,845 BananaBucks : 211,080 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,751 Times Was Thanked 3,967 Times in 1,712 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 39 Times	Re: dissapointed with mystery banana Yes, definitely a Bluggoe variety like Orinoco. __________________

07-23-2013, 01:55 AM	#8 (permalink)
caliboy1994 <div style="font-style: italic;"><div style="font-style: italic;">&lt;div style=&quot;font-style: italic;&quot;&gt;&amp;lt; div style=&amp;quot;font-style: italic;&amp;quot;&amp;gt; Plant alchemist& caliboy1994's Photo Gallery Location: Granada Hills, CA Find me on the map! Zone: USDA zone 10a; Sunset zone 19 Name: Andreas Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 2,276 BananaBucks : 216,996 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 1,457 Times Was Thanked 2,126 Times in 1,133 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 236 Times	Re: dissapointed with mystery banana Try slicing them up and then frying them while they're green. __________________ "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson Find me on Photobucket here: http://s1061.photobucket.com/profile/musamaniac

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