• TheAlbatross@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 days ago

    Ooooh I get to be the know it all asshole who says this and the runts flavor banana don’t taste like banana to us because we’re used to the modern dominant banana cultivar, the Cavandish, while the inventor of Runts and Laffy Taffy were familiar with the then dominant banana cultivar, the Gros Michele!

    The Gros Michele was swapped out as it was plagued by blight and the Cavandish was resistant to this kind of blight. Nowadays, the Cavandish is also starting to show signs of mass blight issues and some growers are considering switching back to the Gros Michele to combat that!

    Edit: Whoohoo! I’m wrong and I learned new things!

    • TurboWafflz@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Hank green did a video about that where he tasted a gros michele and if I’m remembering correctly he said it didn’t really taste like the candy

    • myster0n@feddit.nl
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      4 days ago

      I’m the other asshole, who’s seen someone on YouTube trying a Gros Michele banana and saying it doesn’t taste like the candy flavour. Maybe this just was as close as they could get to the flavour back in the day. And then, once established, this became “banana” forever and ever.

      • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I go to the banana festival every year. I’ve had all of these varieties and many many more. I have three different varieties growing (including dwarf Cavendish). You can try gros michel at the fest, along with many more flavors.

        I’ll say first hand that gros michel is a much more flavorful banana than Cavendish. Its more fragrant and perfumed, and very sweet. But also, just about any other banana is better tasting that Cavendish. My Tahitian blues are delicious. And the star of our yard is our unnamed variety of apple banana.

        The Tahitian blues are more mild and sweet. But with better texture than a Cavendish. But the apples. They’re the dream banana. A but more tart and firm, even when iver ripe. And if you can let them get fully ripe on the tree, just amazing flavors.

        The issue with the apple though is that the trees are massive and super aggressive. If I had more space I would just grow those, but it ends up being a few hours a month in management just to keep the apple bananas from taking over. There’s a farm I’m helping to start and this is the variety we growing there.

        Banana fest is only 15 for a wrist band and all you can eat bananas

        • Shadow@lemmy.ca
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          4 days ago

          You didn’t answer the question that we all have - do the candies actually taste like the Gros Michel?

        • SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
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          4 days ago

          So how much to send a mixed crate to Germany? Because all I ever had was “the most unripe shit, ripened in special container”-Cavendish. And I’m mad about it 😅

          • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            I’m sure there are some specialty shipping companies, but at the price of shipping, could probably fly to Hawaii (or Samoa, or Fiji, or Costa Rica, or Mexico, or Ecuador, or Brazil, etc). Any fruit market in a tropical country is going to have 10+ varieties of banana.

            I have a neighbor who bought a commercial freeze drying machine, and I would say that freeze drying is the best way to keep the flavor as “true” to the flavor you get when ripe. When we get plenty bunches coming in we get maybe 20-30kg a week. We freeze them because things really slow down in the winter (maybe 20-30 kg every 6 week?). If can, I’ll get some freeze dried and could ship much more affordably.

            • SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
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              4 days ago

              It was more of a joke, sadly. But I appreciate your answer 💖

              I have a friend with a freeze dryer, but he uses it to dry his weed 😂

            • SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social
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              3 days ago

              I’m too scared to provide my shipping info to see the shipment cost 😅

              I bet it’ll cost me my left kidney. Maybe still worth it, dunno.

              Thanks 💖

          • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            Yeah maybe the description wasn’t the best?

            Like, my apple bananas. They taste “sharper”, and have a more authentic banana flavor, and are less cloying. And the texture is more firm, even when ripe/ overripe. Even when ripe they have structure, they aren’t mush.

            Cavendish is disgusting to me. Like I can’t even eat one. Its literally gross. But I can eat like 3-5 apple bananas in one sitting.

              • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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                4 days ago

                Gros michel is a cultivar, Cavendish is a cultivar, Tahitian blues a cultivar, and “apple banana” is cultivar, but also an often used name for “unnamed cultivar”.

                The difference is as big as the difference between a Fuji apple and a granny smith. They’re practically different fruit.

    • freagle@lemmy.ml
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      4 days ago

      I also heard that the reason Big Mike was the dominant banana of choice for so long and the Cavendish was not is because the fruit companies firmly believed that the Cavendish was too disgusting in comparison and no one would ever buy it.

          • M137@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            Ok, how us that relevant? People parrot it, just like done here, even more.

          • architect@thelemmy.club
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            4 days ago

            I asked, it stated the lie. I told it to research (just said research it) and it gave me the right answer complete with the chemical flavoring being the issue and link to the proof. It’s like google. You don’t trust the first thing you’re told.

    • Quibblekrust@thelemmy.club
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      3 days ago

      I read your entire comment, and didn’t see the edit at the bottom until later. I feel like hundreds of people are doing the same thing and you’re helping to perpetuate the myth.

      Whenever I post a comment and I’m wrong, I strike it out. I suggest you do the same.

      ~~this syntax produces this:~~
      

      this syntax produces this:

      (Note: You have to strike out each paragraph individually.)

    • qaeta@lemmy.ca
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      4 days ago

      Thank you for your service! You saved me from having to do it haha.