Fruit Maven » Banana

Sexy Fruit for Valentine’s Day

Fruit Maven — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:18:37 +0000

There is something sexy, enticing and adventurous about fruit. In some ways trying a new fruit is like falling in love. It requires abandon and risk. You have to search for it and once found, you have to be patient and careful so you don’t bruise or damage the beautiful nectar inside. Sometimes it works out and you have the most amazing experience, and sometimes you just end up wondering why you wasted so much time admiring something so dull that when you really think about it, kind of smells like vomit.

And so in the spirit of love and Valentine’s Day, I say ditch the flowers and party it up with FRUIT. There are lots of ways to go, so you have no excuses.

Sweet Hearts:
Seckel Pears, Cherimoyas

Not-So-Traditional Flowers:
Mangosteen, Ugli Fruit

Symbols of Love:
Passion Fruit, Pomegranate

Seductive Aphrodisiacs:
Figs, Apples

Direct and to the Point:
Banana, Papaya

Manzano Banana

Keri — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:39:57 +0000

If your new year’s resolution was to increase your ability to wait and wait and wait and wait and… wait, then this is the fruit for you!

APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Totally cute, small, yellow banana with pale, off-white flesh.

AROMA 4 out of 5 stars

Strong, flowery, banana fragrance with a little bit of something bright, maybe pineapple.

TEXTURE 3 out of 5 stars

Soft with a cool feel. Dry!

TASTE 4.5 out of 5 stars

Yummy combination of banana and pineapple and maybe a bit of strawberry.

OVERALL 3.88 out of 5 stars

This is a diva of a banana if ever I saw one. You have to wait to eat it until the skin is black (not just a little black: BLACK) otherwise it is just “blah” with a tannic aftertaste. But, if you wait (and I mean WAIT – like three weeks well past what you think is a reasonable wait for a banana) then you will be rewarded with a tropical disco in your mouth — smooth, creamy, pineapply, strawberry, banana love. Oh and then the taste will linger and linger until eventually you think, “What is that weird flavor in my mouth? Oh – Is it STILL that banana? Good lord!” (This banana made me wait so long to eat it that I am overwhelmed with the use of ALLCAPS).

FRUIT

Banana

VARIETY

Manzano

PEAK

All Year

GROWN

Colombia

PURCHASED

Grocery Store

NOTES

Some think the banana is good for fertility (hmm), while others are so convinced that the banana is bad luck that they won’t even let their comrades wear fruit of the loom undies. These seem like a tragic confluence of the two.

RECIPES

Manzano Banana Cake
Manzano Bananas wrapped in Croissants and Honey

Orinoco Banana

Fruit Maven — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:55:49 +0000

If you like to take things that are perfectly simple and then over-complicate them to the point of ridiculousness, then this is the fruit for you!

APPEARANCE 3 out of 5 stars

Squatty green and yellow, tube shaped, angular fruit with rough, slightly netted skin, and bright white flesh

AROMA 2 out of 5 stars

Bright and unripe smelling, tannic

TEXTURE 2.5 out of 5 stars

Smooth, soft giving flesh that is a little bit silky feeling but with a fibrous core

TASTE 4 out of 5 stars

Nicely sweet, bright and very banana-y, slightly starchy but not too bad – reminiscent of apples and pears

OVERALL 2.88 out of 5 stars

The taste of this banana is really good but I literally had to wait two and a half weeks for it to soften to the point of being edible. Even then it was ridiculously soft with a weird core, which is not something I am used to in a banana. In its firm state you can cook it up like a plantain but I did not try this because I am a simple girl and just a wee bit lazy. I like fruit for many reasons, one of the main ones being that it is a dessert that I can just eat. Immediately. No fuss. No muss. Bananas generally are, and should be, the king of this. You don’t even have to wash them!

FRUIT

Banana

VARIETY

Orinoco

PEAK

All Year

ORIGIN

Origin

GROWN

Farmer Steve Inc.
Ramona, CA

PURCHASED

Farmer’s Market

NOTES

Bananas grow on the tree with the stem end at the bottom and the fingers pointing up – exactly the opposite of what those cute little banana holders would lead us to believe. Don’t be fooled by that kind of backward thinking, banana hanging propaganda. Bananas need to stand at attention in order to grow, despite their marketing efforts to the contrary. Stop trying to be lazy bananas! That is my job.

RECIPES

Banana Coconut Bread
Frozen Banana “Ice Cream”