NiceCreamBananaTruck

I am a newbie to the banana game. I have started a banana food truck to spread my love of these beautiful fruits! I need some expert advice. We make banana ice cream, which is JUST FROZEN BANANA mushed up into a soft serve consistency. I want to explore the different types instead of a standard "CHIQUITA" :-)
any suggestions on what type of banana to look for and maybe even a connection to purchase would be extremely helpful! i am located in south florida

Botanical_Bryce

Namwah

sputinc7

I am sorry, everyone... I know most of you love em, but Namwah is like last on my list of bananas, behind even Cavendish and Manzano. I know I am probably the lone ranger on this subject, but I just don't care much for them.
I hear Blue Jave (Ice cream) bananas and Sweetheart are very sweet.

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https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

crazy banana

Forget the "real" Ice Cream-Blue Java. They can be delicious. For what you are planning to do, a large scale easily available banana would be the Namwah variety.

Botanical_Bryce

Namwah is a very popular choice in south Florida and in tastes tests consumers love them. There are other choices but nobody to supply demand.

NiceCreamBananaTruck

thanks guys! I would like to establish a connection down here to purchase in bulk regularly, can someone point me int eh right direction?

robguz24

It sounds like the issue will be getting anything other than cavendish on a reliable, consistent basis. Sucrier is incredibly sweet. As far as texture for frozen banana soft serve, Namwah, Ice Cream and Sweetheart all excel.

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sputinc7

One would think that with all the issues surrounding the Cavendish crops these days, and the history of the Gros Michel to back it up, that someone out there would be starting to mass produce something different by now.

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

Botanical_Bryce

At 39 cents, 69 cents, and 99 cents a pound nobody is in a rush. California $4 a pound for specialties so there are people there farming. Millions if acres in south America can hardly be competed against.

sputinc7

I know. What I mean is they all see the writing on the wall. You would think a major grower would start making a change, a gradual one so it's not like it was at the end of the GM debacle. It's just smart business.

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

crazy banana

There are many more factors to take into consideration while growing banana varieties on a large commercial scale besides the plants being disease resistant.
As a hobby grower I can experiment with different varieties. But as a commercial grower someone would want high yielding varieties with mostly uniform fruits.
Of course the bananas have to be tasty, but they are pretty much worthless for a commercial grower if they do not ship well or have an extremely short self life.
The recommended Namwah for example has a tendency to split if not harvested quick enough. Other varieties like the dwarf Brazilian usually have a thinner skin or easily break apart at the pedicels making them not necessarily a good supermarket banana.

trachcanman99

I read your sig and wondered if there is a reliable source to get what you ordered for bananas. I know not all nurseries send you what you order but sometime what they have on hand. I am running out of room to plant stuff so I don't want to plant a recommended banana to find out it is another variety that is worthless.

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sputinc7

I am aware of those things, but they have had years to figure something out... They need to taste like a banana, and be as big as a banana too... People are finiky

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

sputinc7

Pretty much just respected members here. I also hear that going bananas in Homestead is pretty reliable.

__________________

If you lose your head and give up, you neither live nor win.

https://sputinc7.wixsite.com/covwc

Varieties I supposedly bought: Manzano, Cavendish, Blue Java, Sweetheart, and Gros Michel.
What it seems I actually have: Brazilian, Cavendish, Namwah, Dwarf Red, Gros Michel, Pisang Ceylon, Veinte Cohol and SH 3640, and American Goldfinger. FHIA 1, Paggi and FHIA 17... Always room for one more.

beam2050

looks like a 180 to me. gave me pretty much the same advice about my blue java.

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Gabe15

I agree with Namwah, give it a try if you can find enough of them for your needs. In addition to being relatively high in sugar, they also don't really oxidize like Cavendish which is always a plus for processed items. They are hardy and relatively easy to grow, so you shouldn't have too much of a problem tracking some down. Namwah also seem to be my favorite go-to banana for processing, whether it be wine, vinegar, syrup or ice-cream substitute, they always seem to be abundant and easy to work with. Also, when they are mashed up, I think they're flavor transforms a bit and gives more of a honey and vanilla experience, I don't know how well this transfers into ice cream but let us know when you find out.

I also second checking in with Don and Katie at Going Bananas nursery in homestead, both for fruit directly as well as to potentially get leads on other producers.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Gabe15

Replacement varieties already exist (both improved Cavendish and Cavendish-analogs), more are being bred (in a variety of different ways), and there is tons of research and initiative on this subject. What is feared to happen in Latin America has already been happening in Asia for decades, and it's a challenge, but by no means a barrier.

The reason we don't see any change in large Latin American production systems (and downstream to consumers in the US), is because FOC TR4 ("race 4") simply isn't a problem there yet, and so there is little incentive to re-work the whole system (from farm to grocery store) to accommodate a new cultivar as of right now.

If/when race 4 arrives in Latin America, it won't collapse everything overnight,
neither did race 1, it was severe but more gradual than it's made out to have been. At that time there was also almost nothing known about the disease compared to today. We don't know everything, but we do know an incredible amount, especially about detection, containment, and quarantine/sanitation. There will be time to implement new strategies when needed, but it's simply not needed right now.

The big companies know what would have to change and are ready to do it when the time comes, but it's just not that time yet.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.