A Jamaican red banana plant, from Hirt’s Gardens.
One possible alternative to the threatened yellow Cavendish banana is the so-called “red” banana – that’s the color of the fruit’s flesh – which is grown in Colombia, Ecuador, and in other parts of South and Central America. The “red” is sometimes considered a variant or cousin of the delicious Philippine Lacatan,
The Telegraph newspaper, in the U.K., now reports that some grocers have begun offering the differently-colored variety to consumers, and are having success with it. Describing the fruit as having a “raspberry flavor,” and “creamy white pink flesh,” the story goes on to say that consumers are responding well to the new offering. (I’m not too sure the “raspberry” descriptor is right. Red bananas, to me, are more apple-like.)
So far, only one UK supermarket chain is offering the fruit. A manager there said that he doubted that the red banana could replace the yellow one, that it was seen more as an attempt to add variety to the limited-to-one choice banana consumers have had for over a century.
The red banana isn’t a Cavendish replacement technologically, either, since it grows slower, in fewer places, and ripens much faster than the hardier, blander, and more widespread yellow variety. But diversity is key to saving the banana, so adding a new color – or two (orange bananas grow in the South Pacific) is a great start.
Whole Foods markets in the U.S. often stock red bananas.
Tags: Banana News
Earlier this year over here in Zurich, Switzerland, I saw street posters advertising “Chiquita mini” bananas, and I was then wondering whether this was related to the fate of the Cavendish. Meanwhile the posters seem to have disappeared, and so far I never encountered these new specimen in stores.