Produce Market Guide (PMG) | Manzano Bananas (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Manzano bananas and regular bananas? ›

Similar to the common yellow Cavendish banana, the Manzano is smaller and sweeter, with a hint of crunchy apple-strawberry flavor. Not to be confused with the Baby Banana, the pale-gold Manzano actually tastes best when its skin is covered with black spots or has turned completely black.

Manzano bananas are short and chubby with thick yellow skins that turn completely black when ripe. They're sometimes called the apple banana because of their apple-like flavor when immature. When fully ripe, they have a more tropical, pineapple flavor.

The sweet flavor and velvety texture are perfect for fruit salads, smoothies, yogurt, pies, cakes, and puddings. Manzano bananas can also be fried into fritters, baked into bread, or dipped in chocolate and frozen.

Manzano bananas are also commonly referred to as Manzano apple bananas or simply, apple bananas. If that name doesn't give it away, a ripe Manzano banana actually has a flavor profile similar to a sweet apple or a strawberry.

Apple bananas are exceptionally sweet, hence their other name, Candy Apple Banana. They are grown in the rainy tropical forests in Hawaii. Their flesh is firm and has a slight pinkish tone.

A fully ripe banana is the most nutritious stage to eat, as the fruit has had time to develop and convert its starches into sugars, making the fruit sweeter and easier to digest. Fully ripe bananas also have the highest levels of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, including Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and potassium.

Distinctive Red Tip® Ecoganic® Bananas are dipped in a bright red food grade wax to let shoppers know that they are different from ordinary bananas. The wax tip indicates that the bananas are grown using the Ecoganic® farming system, which is always 3rd party certified and endorsed by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Chiquita bananas are a fantastic healthy snack because they're full of fibre – and the good kind of soluble fibre – that's great for keeping cholesterol down and reducing the risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

What do you remove before eating a banana? ›

Remove the "strings." Bananas have fibrous strands between the skin and the fruit. These usually come off along with the peel, but sometimes they may stick to the fruit. Gently peel these off before eating the banana. They are not bad for you, but many people find them to have a bitter taste and odd texture.

'Plátano' is the main Spanish term for the banana fruit in Mexico, Chile, Peru, Spain, and parts of Cuba.

Nendran, a variety of banana growing in some parts of South India is the most suitable variety for making chips. Traditionally, raw Nendran bananas are skinned, made in to thin slices and then deep fried in coconut oil.

Chiquita Manzanos bananas: stocky, sweeter and shorter.

Chiquita Manzanos are delicious whether tossed in fruit salads, blended in smoothies, baked in breads, or simply eaten as a healthy snack. An average manzano is about four inches long and they have a pale-yellow peel that blackens as the banana ripens.

Unripe, green bananas contain considerable amounts of resistant starch and pectin, which are types of dietary fiber. Resistant starch and pectins act as prebiotic nutrients, supporting the growth of beneficial gut bacteria.

A standard yellow banana might be your best bet. A perfectly ripe yellow banana is perfectly good to eat. You reap all the benefits of a banana when you consume a yellow banana.

Nutritional facts

Increasing the amount of potassium in the diet through foods like manzano bananas may provide protection against hypertension, especially in people who are sensitive to sodium.