mrbungalow

What kind of cultivar produces these bananas?
http://www.chiquita.com/chiquita/who...le=pfMinis.asp

I surfed the Chiquita site, and I could find absolutely no information about their real products (such as what species they grow), but plenty of chiquita girls, jungles, and other crap. I personally don't like this company after I saw them on 60 minutes...

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PaulOdin

I bought some the other day. They tasted better than the usual store 'naner, but I'm only guessing about the cultivar. Apple, perhaps?

Paul

Gabe15

I believe they are 'Nino', other companies sell 'Apple' but label them as 'Manzano'.

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

STEELVIPER

Just to add to the confusion. I bought some of the mini's today. On the receipt is said Ladyfinger mini bananas.

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jeffreyp

The nino's and manzanas come to mind.

mrbungalow

I thought Nino was a cavendish type, while Manzano or Apple tasted totally different? Almost litterarly like an apple?
Surely it can't be too different from the regular "Chiquita" they sell, since they say it's only a little bit sweeter?

In Norway, like almost any other place in the west, Chiquita has the major portion of the market. There is also an ecological/fair-trade alternative, but these are more expensive and of less quality.

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Gabe15

Cavendish and Nino are completely different cultivars, Nino is not a Cavendish. Manzano is completely different from both Cavendish and Nino. Manzano (in my opinion) truely does have an apple-like taste, although others have dissagreed. Nino is sweet and has a slightly different taste, different from Cavendish. All 3 are of course dessert varieties.

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

wim

Erlend,

What came up in that program about Chiquita? Since they carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified label, I started buying them again.

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With kind regards
Wim

jeffreyp

My point was the fruit look highly similar.

Manzano has an aftertaste of red delicious apples.

mrbungalow

What came up was that the company has utilized highly poisonous insecticides that have harmed children in the area, as well as workers. Critizism has been made for not even putting up warning-signs about the insecticide, in spite of knowing about the dangers. As far as I know, no settlement has been offered for the people affected. Plantation-workers get black-listed for forming alliances. The company is also critisized for not offering regular employment for it's plantation-workers.
All this for "The perfect banana".

I am quoting what they said on 60-minutes, and would love to hear from anyone working in the Chiquita company. But 60 minutes is known for thorough investigation before they speak. Although important, "Protection of the rainforest" is starting to become a cliche', and in this case seems like another sales-gimmick.

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chong

i'm new to this website. it was interesting to read about the comments regarding the chiquita minis. here in seattle, these commonly are sold in asian supermarkets. they are lady finger type bananas. not the manzano or apple types. the lady finger types have very thin skins, while the manzanos have a thicker skin. the lady finger types that are sold here are very sweet, with no acid taste whatsoever. on the other hand, manzanos have some acid taste to them. i grew up in the land of a thousand banana varieties. we call the lady finger banana as "señorita".

this is definitely not a cavendish type. the chiquita minis, in addition to the thin skin, has shinier skins as well. the cavendish is very similar to the grocery variety with slightly thinner and a little more limp skin than the grocery type.

another thing, cavendish has white pulp, whereas, lady finger types, as in the minis, have very light creamy-salmon color pulp.

i am surprised about the talk about pesticide use by chiquita. i wonder if dole or del monte are in the same boat. the minis that we get here in seattle are usually from these latter two. they are a lot sweeter than the thick skinned version. and cost 5 times as much.

MediaHound

I attempted to eat an underripe Manzano the other day (along with my girlfriend). We had a fast trip to the garbage can.

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