The banana you are all familiar with seeing the grocery store is called a Cavendish, and there are a number of diseases that are threatening its existence. The article talked about all of the research going on to breed a replacement that is similar to the Cavendish and disease-resistant.
The article talked about how bananas are the fourth most important food crop in the world behind rice, soybeans, and corn.
It also mentioned that there are something like 2,000 different varieties of bananas in the world and how unfortunate it is that Americans are only familiar with the boring Cavendish.
They described some of the tastes of different bananas and it they really sounded delicious. They next time we were grocery shopping I saw a display of red bananas. They were about half the length of a Cavendish but about the girth. I didn’t know if they were dessert bananas (that is what they call a sweet banana like the Cavendish) or ones like plantains that are used more like a potato, but I wanted to expand my banana horizons so I bought a small bunch.
DELICIOUS!
I think I have converted Sheri to red bananas exclusively now. Similar to the Cavendish, but a little bit sweeter and creamier and smoother with maybe a slight hint of vanilla and raspberry. They are not the kind of sweet that you get when a Cavendish starts to turn dark and turn to sugar.
They are a little more expensive than Cavendish bananas. I think they have been in the $0.65 to $0.75 per pound range, whereas the Cavendish's have been below $0.40 per pound lately.
I am glad I read the article and was spurred to try the red bananas, but now I really want to try some of the other delicious ones the rest of the world is eating.
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