What is a Manzano Banana?

Too often in this country, a banana is just a banana. We miss out on the wonderful diverse world that truly is the banana. We have just convientily wrapped into a single package. Yes occasionally you run into a red banana, but for the most part the standard yellow “Cavendish” is all you will find. But if your luck would have it and mine did on a trip to pick up a few items up at the Produce Station in Ann Arbor, MI, I discovered this tiny little bananas called Manzano. I had never seen these before, so I was curious to give them a try. The sign at the store explained that these bananas have a strawberry or apple undertone to their flavor. My sample seemed to have an apple flavor to it. Some people call them apple bananas. They also recommend eating these when they had quite a bit of black on them (your patience will be rewarded!). I can never eat a banana that has any green on it, it’s not sweet enough for me. These bananas seem to be a little drier than a normal banana. You can find this banana growing all over the world in areas in which it’s warm enough to grow bananas.