Banana's question...

I been going banana's trying to find some info about this specific banana. First of all, it may not be a banana, but definitely looks like one and tastes like one.

I only had it a few times about 25 years ago. It's a whole banana but about 1/2 the length and girth. It tasted sticky and chewy and very sweet. If I didn't know any better, I would have said it was some kind of preservation technique, perhaps candied or dried. It wasn't smokey, or wasn't tough, it was just very tasty. They were given t us as whole fruits, usually cryovac'd or similar method.

Oh, btw, this was in old USSR time, so my first guess was maybe it was imported from Cuba?

Any info or guesses would be appreciated

There are a LOT of different banana cultivars. My guess would be something like Lady FInger bananas. Small and very sweet. Grocery store bananas are like grocery store tomatoes--grown to be shipped, not eaten.

Lucretia, Curious. I was actually under the impression that there is only one cultivar commercially grown--Cavendish. My understanding was that all the heritage species have been decimated by disease.

Maybe a Bungulan, or Latundan?

Mucho Bocho said:

Lucretia, Curious. I was actually under the impression that there is only one cultivar commercially grown--Cavendish. My understanding was that all the heritage species have been decimated by disease.

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MB, there's an international market here in town that has an average of 5-10 different types in stock every time I go there. All kinds of unique tastes but as stated that don't hold up well to storage.

The predecessor to the Cavendish was the Gros Michel banana. The Gros Michel was wiped out by Panama disease. Now the Cavendish is being affected. Since Cavendish plants are clones, they could be completely wiped out. Death of Cavendish info.

Other bananas are out there. Our grocery store carries different varieties on occasion. Lucky Peach had an interesting arcticle on banana varieties just the other day.

I haven't had a Lady Finger banana for years. We had a neighbor who grew them when I was growing up, and they'd give us some once in a while. They were really good.

Wow, lots of info. It's probably one of the other varieties indeed, but I am also curious of the preparation or the final product, if it's commercially available... I am craving that flavor

Mucho Bocho said:

I was actually under the impression that there is only one cultivar commercially grown--Cavendish.

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The export trade is thoroughly dominated by Cavendish. Cavendish is about 1/2 of all banana cultivation. While a lot of the non-Cavendish growing is for home consumption, a lot of non-Cavendish gets sold in local markets (so commercial growing, but not export growing).

Mucho Bocho said:

My understanding was that all the heritage species have been decimated by disease.

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The heritage varieties are the disease-resistant ones. Earlier export-dominating varieties were decimated by disease, but I wouldn't call them "heritage". The main varieties are different varieties of the same species; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banana_cultivars