servatusprime

TEXTURE- Very smooth and creamy and I would also say “dense”. Out of the varieties I have sampled, this has the best texture so far. It reminds me a little of cheesecake.

FIRMNESS – A little more firm than a grocery store Cavendish.

SWEETNESS- Somewhat sweet. (Sweeter than a Cavendish)

TARTNESS- A little tart when there is some green at the tip, but then becomes milder after becoming fully yellow.

RIPENESS- Green and/or yellow at the tip and several with some brown spots during testing.

FLAVOR- It does remind me in flavor of the Brazilian which is part of its parentage. However I think the flavor is superior personally. When it has a little green at the tip, you can taste the apple like flavor of the Brazilian, but then it transitions as it further ripens to very ripe kiwi like flavor, hint of cantaloupe and finally more custard like.

I did not try cooking it green. However I did use it in banana bread……..…BEST……BANANA……BREAD……………EVERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!! (and they weren't even black! Just lots of brown spots)

OTHER: Why this isn't the standard at the grocery store is beyond me. This is an awesome banana and I could eat it every day. (I ate 10 a day for a while due to quantity, but that was a lot of sugar and consequently ) I think that just about anyone would like it. The size of a single banana varies a little bit , but is comparable to a typical Cavendish serving. (see photo, there were smaller fingers, about half that size too) The banana peels perfectly and the fruit looks too perfect to be real sometimes. The flavor is not life changing, overwhelming, or exceptionally unique (e.g. Kandrian), but it is darn good and enjoyable throughout the various stages of ripeness.

GROWING IT: This has been the fastest growing variety in my yard. It went from a little tissue culture plant (~18”) to harvesting a 40 lb bunch with 114 fingers in about a year. Who can complain with those results? (Keith is barred from complaining, due to exceptionally unfair advantage) I think the next harvest will even be bigger based on how robust the ratoon pups are doing. The variety is also fairly cold hardy (flowered during our coldest weeks and was fine) It hold it leaves very well and is attractive for the garden. It just grows with no fusses.






OVERALL RATING: 9. I would go 8 for just the fruit. (At this point Cavendish is no higher than a 5 to me) I am increasing the rating, because it is a fast and easy grower. It is certainly a keeper in my yard. If you aren’t growing it, you better have a good excuse.

SUGGESTED USE: Certainly eat it out of hand. With this harvest I won’t be conducting a bunch of culinary tests, however it does make awesome banana bread.

robguz24

Great report! I have my first bunch forming now and can't wait to try them. How long was it from flower to harvest for you?

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PR-Giants

Great Report.

Your opinion of the Kandrian seems odd, most banana eaters in world consider it a cooking banana, you must be very lucky.

Your opinion of the Goldfinger seems high, most banana eaters in world consider the taste below average, as well as the people who invented it at FHIA.

It does stay ripe for a longer time than most other bananas.

The SH-3640 is much better, but only stays ripe for a short period of time.

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servatusprime

Thank you. It was about 4.5 months! This was taken back on February 8th.

servatusprime

Thank you sir. I have read some accounts online that agree with what you are saying. Part of my rating does consider how easy it is to grow, the length of time its enjoyable to eat through stages of ripeness, and versatility in the kitchen.

Opinions of taste can be quite relative. There once was a time in my life that I really liked grocery store bananas. Now I know better (still eat them though). Perhaps my high rating comes out of lack of personal eating experiences with other varieties.

For me I have experienced the following:

Fresh (most from my back yard):
Kandrian - Kandrian Taste Report
Goldfinger
Namwah-Icecream
Brazilian
Pisang Raja - Pisang Raja Taste Report
Double Mahoi
Orinoco
And a mystery banana someone handed me on hiking trail in Kauai on my honeymoon. I wish I knew what one it was, because that's the variety that started this little obsession of mine. Rob could you go over there and find it for me?

Grocery Store:
Cavendish
Red
Manzano
Nino
Plantain

I have a few more varieties that I am growing and can't wait to taste. (Gros Michel, FHIA-3, and Pisang Ceylon) Perhaps after I try a few more, my opinions will change. I can't quite explain why the Kandrian I grew was amazing, but other reports do not consider it so great for eating out of hand. It might be growing conditions, or I got lucky somehow like you said. Maybe I should ship some your way one day and see what you think. You would be more qualified to offer an opinion with everything you have grown.

PR-Giants

Adding the links to your other reports, was an excellent idea.

Every journal I've read lists the Kandrian as a cooking banana and not even as a dual purpose like a Namwa. It probably has already been evaluated in every banana growing country in the world.

Considering there are probably no bad tasting bananas being marketed, having a cooking banana at a 9 doesn't leave a lot of space for the dessert bananas.

FHIA bananas sell at a discount in banana growing regions because of the lower quality.

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servatusprime

Well as I try new varieties I'm not opposed going back and modifying my past ratings. But until I do try other varieties I'll stand by my ratings for now. Because honestly these are really good bananas based on my past experience. With time I'll gain perspective, however I am somewhat limited to what varieties I can easily procure and successfully grow in my backyard.

I write these reviews to document my experiences and hopefully help others. It's information I wish I had when I got started.

robguz24

I think of the ratings as just an opinion, and try to be descriptive in the rest of the report so if someone knows they don't like totally sweet fruit, fluffy texture, etc., they can go by that rather than the score, which is much more subjective.

Ideally two people should give similar reports but could have wildly different scores. Some people I know love Ice Cream and I think they're just ok at best. I really like praying hands but people I have had try them don't like them nearly as much.

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servatusprime

I agree and try to take a similar approach. It's an imperfect system since there isn't a great way to grow many varieties on the same plot of land, ripen at the same time, and be reviewed by multiple people. It's a bit more random in practice. The people who have the best chance on this forum are those who truly live in tropical conditions. I wish I was one of them sometimes. But I think I'm doing not too bad in my sub tropical climate.

Pancrazio

Thank you for your report. I find such kind of post very useful for the sheer amount of information provided to novice growers like me. If I may ask, how tall was your plant when flowered?

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servatusprime

Thank you for the complement. Happy to help. I haven't measured it yet, but I believe it was near 7'. When I have a chance I'll check. The next p-stem to flower should be taller. However I wouldn't use my heights for your own gardening. It seems my bananas have been flowering at lower heights than what other people or websites report. Can't tell you why though.

Pancrazio

Well, that's a nice thing to have, plants consistently shorter than average. For sure if I were able to fruit a goldfinger a 7' I would call it an achievement!
I won't expect it, but it's nice to hear that this may happen.

(Do you use herbicides by any chance? Some of them have hormones; this can be a reason if you don't have anything else particularly unusual)

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servatusprime

No herbacides!! (My lawn is so full of weeds) I try to implement organic practices and thus far have been successful. Just lots of composted mulch, grass clippings, composted manure, organic fertilizers, water, sunshine, along with a healthy does of obsession.

Julian

Thanks for this report. Don't worry about what Keith thinks. He prefers Cavs and Morado over everything. Go figure.

PR-Giants

Go figure, Julian is a typical follower that doesn't think.

Don't Go figure Julian, it's a waste of time.

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Julian

No one wastes their time on the internet more than you do. Everyone knows that but u. Morado and Cavs suck and you know it.

robguz24

I finally got to taste Goldfinger. The fruit didn't fully enlarge and the bunch broke off in a storm last week. Still they were fully ripe at 4 months. They are good, much like a DB but less so the more ripe they got. The texture to me isn't as creamy as a DB. With some green, they were more tart and at their best, and nearly as good as a DB (which is in my top 3) but they went quickly downhill after that. So overall one of my favorites, certainly in the top 10.

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