venturabananas

Thanks to the generosity of a couple of the members here (BadPun and Clare_CA), I had the opportunity to do a "head-to-head" taste test of Mysore, Dwarf Brazilian, Manzano (store bought), and Cardaba.

Here's what they look like in the peels. From the top and going clockwise: Manzano, Cardaba, Dwarf Brazilian, and Mysore. (Note that the photo angle seems to have altered relative sizes a bit. They actually ranked as follows: Cardaba, Manzano, D. Braz., Mysore).



Here's what they look like on my cereal. From the top going clockwise: Manzano, Mysore, and Dwarf Brazilian.



I didn't actually include Cardaba on the cereal. It just didn't make the cut -- I'd already tried it and it wasn't breakfast cereal worthy in comparison to the other three. To be fair, it probably wasn't as ripe as it needed to be for optimal dessert banana flavor. I just had another one that was riper and it was better. Some good flavor, but not on par with the other three. I'm also not a huge fan of the very squishy, airy, texture.

As for the other three, Mysore was the clear winner. Incredible taste. If you haven't had one before you will be surprised at just how much sweet-tart flavor a banana can have. In fact, I know at least a couple of people, my wife included, who described it as tasting like "Sweettart" candies. It's her favorite, and mine too, to date.

Dwarf Brazilian and Manzano were both very good. To me at least 10x better than a storebought Cavendish. Both have a bit of acidity. D. Braz has more tropical flavor (I get hints of pineapple), whereas Manzano really does live up to its name and has more apple taste. Depending on the day and the bunch, my preference for the two flip flops.

I have tried all of these varieties except Cardaba at least a few times, and I have to say that their flavor and texture can really vary a lot, probably depending on the conditions they experienced when maturing, the nutrition of the plant, location, etc., etc., etc.

Thanks again to the folks who have shared their fruit with me: BadPun, Clare_CA, Sunfish, Momoese, and Pitangadiego (and my neighbors).

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momoese

That's the same way I'd rank them. Descriptions are right on the money too.

Nicolas Naranja

I wonder how mysore holds up to frying?

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

oakshadows

Let us know as we or many of us would like to know.

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"What this country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds."

caliboy1994

Mysore tastes the best? That makes me happy, because I just bought a 6 foot tall Mysore plant.

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"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Find me on linktree here as Solarpunk Farmer:
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momoese

caliboy1994

It's going to be delivered to my house on Monday...

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"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

Find me on linktree here as Solarpunk Farmer:
https://linktr.ee/solarpunkfarmer

sunfish

iz

I love Cardaba, but the best way to eat it is when its cooked; fried or steamed.

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Going banana 4 bananas,
iz

Clare_CA

I had Cardaba on my breakfast cereal this morning, and it is much better and much sweeter when it is very yellow with some black on it. The texture is better too:-)

NANAMAN

I know that taste is a very subjective thing, especially with fruits that have so many variables. Flavor (fruity, sweet, acid, sub-acid ) Texture (dry, moist, dense, soft, firm, etc..). The climate some these varieties are grown in plays an important role in taste. Also fruit picked not fully developed,as colder weather approaches,may ripen but suffers, sometimes greatly, in quality and flavor.

I have found it hard to get a reliable description of how any of the different banana varieties tastes' would rank as compared to my taste buds. So the only thing left to do was grow as many of them as I could.

Starting with all the varieties that got high taste rankings on different web sites, and a few from members of this site, to date I have tasted 50+ varieties. All were grown in my back yard, in sunny S. Fl. under as optimal of conditions as I could muster, with the exception of 2 or 3 varieties. All of them have been desert bananas, except for Siam Ruby and Ae Ae.

My goal from the beginning was to find 5 varieties of desert bananas that I liked the best, then weed the rest out. I ran out of room quickly, so I started weeding as I went, growing 10 or so mats at a time.

The results of my experiment have been a bit disappointing, in that I thought I would have a hard time deciding which of the last 10 or 15 varieties would make the cut down to 5. Instead, I am sure of only 2 varieties-
Manzano and Chini Champa.

I guess that just proves I'm a little picky.lol. At least I have room to grow a few more, who knows what will be next!

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venturabananas

Thanks Brian. Sounds like I need Chini champa. From what I can tell, you're about the only one who has that one in the US.

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cheson74

Thanks for the info. I just planted a 4 foot Mysore and several Manzanos. I should get some fruit by next year. I can't wait to try the Mysore. The Manzanos are everywhere in Hawaii. They are delicious!

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