robguz24

Harvested my first bunch of Praying Hands this week, and it was also my first taste of them. Pretty good out of hand when very ripe, and very good cooking banana.





TEXTURE-Sort of fluffy on the outer part of the fruit, more chewy in the middle, with an overall creamy, pleasant texture.

FIRMNESS-The middle part keep the banana pretty firm, even when the outer part seems very ripe and mushy.

SWEETNESS-Medium sweetness, less than a ripe Namwah.

TARTNESS-Medium tartness, more tart in the middle. Less tart than a Dwarf Brazilian.

RIPENESS-I ate these out of hand about as ripe as I could get them. The skin is bruised, but since the skin is thick, the flesh is just a bit mushy on the outer part, but the inner part remains firm. There should be no green at all anywhere on the fruit or pedicel. They can be mostly yellow and still work great as a cooking banana. I’m not a fan of cooking bananas cooked when totally green.

FLAVOR-I get kind of an orange-peach-apple taste out of it, with a kind of vegetal or musty taste which is more pronounced the less ripe they are. UPDATE-musty taste is from a mold that develops especially in the folds and when not contaminated while eating have no musty taste at all! Kind of reminds me of musty wine cork, but it’s balanced out by the more fruity taste when eaten very ripe. I get that same musty thing with other Sabas I’ve had, and it seems less pronounced in these Praying Hands. This keeps me from giving it a higher rating, and that aftertaste lingers more than the good tastes. However, it works very well when used as a cooking banana. Stays pleasantly firm with a meaty texture. It’s one of the better tasting ones, up there with Hua Moa. I’ve seen them described as having a vanilla taste, which I don’t agree with.

OTHER-These medium sized fruit feel hearty and substantial. They seem more filling that a similar sized DB or Cavendish. More than many other bananas, they can look overripe and bruised and are still very good, probably at their peak. The first couple hands came out single rowed and not totally fused. Lower hands were double rows and more fused. They come apart easily, though may tear the peel of the one you’re removing is stuck to.

OVERALL RATING-7 out of hand, maybe 8 as a cooking banana. Been eating them about 50/50. Worth growing even aside from how cool the hands look.

SUGGESTED USE-Out of hand when very ripe, cooking when somewhat or mostly yellow. These aren’t super sweet, so I wouldn’t use them with desserts, ice cream, in cereal, etc.

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Worm_Farmer

Last year I froze them and ran them throught out jucier and made a nice paste or ice cream. This review is SPOT on my friend.

verndoc50

I agree with this assessment, Rob! These are so similar to SABA, I think they must be first cousins. I have harvested the latest bunch of praying hands and about half were separated from each other and were indistinguishable from SABA.
We cook most of them but when super ripe I have included them in fruit smoothies, along with papaya, pineapple, and carambola or whatever fruit we have laying around.
Great review, thanks!

venturabananas

They are. Praying Hands is in the Saba subgroup.

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servatusprime

I bought a hand of praying hands from a local fruit stand. I think Rob's report is accurate. However, I wonder if the fruit I had was as developed as what Rob's pictures show. It seems like he got a little better experience than me.

I would say that this variety is not really great for eating fresh out of hand. To describe it simply, the eating experience is like a lack luster not sweet cross between Cavendish and Kandrian. I think that this variety is more about the novelty of fused fingers than about great produce.

If I happen to go by that stand, I might buy another hand just to trying cooking it just out of curiosity. (Perhaps I'll like it better that way) I once thought about growing this one, but after eating it, I think I'll pass.

Thanks for the report Rob. They are always a good reference.

robguz24

I've had more since and the musty taste is really just contamination with the black mold that seems to grow in between them where I live. Get even a speck of that on the ripe fruit and it changes the whole flavor. Less of an issue when cooked. I think they're also better less ripe than in the picture in my report. On more recent bunches I've used more of them cooked. Certainly a particular taste to them that may not be to everyone's liking.

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from the sea

It's funny what some people taste and others don't. When I had them, I tasted the vanilla flavor when they were ripe. I wonder if it is from different growing conditions?

geosulcata

We tasted Praying Hands for the first time at Going Bananas earlier this month. They had a definite vanilla flavor. I guess different growing conditions yield a different taste. Don said his don't always taste the same. This is my husbands new favorite tasting banana.

Yuri Barros

Nice Bunch.............

mm4birds

Great report and I agree with the taste. Similar to saba but a lot less dangerous to harvest seeing as my saba grew to 25 feet off the ground before fruiting, with a very large and heavy bunch (need to get me a cherry picker).