The search is on for banana ancestors | Hacker News Reader

The search is on for banana ancestors

nytimes.com

49 pointsHooke22 comments

Fun fact: artificial banana flavoring doesn't taste like modern bananas, but tastes more like varieties that used to be popular:

> So, when you’re biting into a piece of banana Laffy Taffy, you’re getting a taste of the bananas of the past. “That’s kind of why I think of these older, ‘cheap’ artificial flavors as ‘heirloom’ artificial flavors,” says Berenstein. “Because they’re the simpler formulas that have been less modified by time.”

from: https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/why-dont-banana-candi...

In short, the banana that preceded Cavendish was Gros Michel, which had different composition taste-wise. The earlier sweets/candies were based on the taste of those. Gros Michel suffered from diseases, stopped being the main cultivar and Cavendish took over with its different taste.

(from memory anyway)

What does "That's not dead helpful" mean? Or is this an overeager autocorrect?

I shouldn't have said it that way. Removed.

That's kinda of mind blowing. It kinda explains why my grandpa always shot talks modern food.

> Banana-flavored candy does not mimic the taste of a formerly popular variety of banana. The reason banana candy tastes different than bananas is that it is mainly flavored with only one of the many flavors a banana has, isoamyl acetate.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconception...

Interestingly, that wikipedia entry cites the very article I cited. The other article it cites concedes that the so-called myth is actually somewhat true. Not exactly a thorough debunking, but definitely more food for thought.

A fun article about this very situation:

https://www.damninteresting.com/the-unfortunate-sex-life-of-...

This is slightly off topic but related. Bananas in Asia are amazing. I've was lucky enough to try a Blue Java banana, and imagine a vanilla ice cream banana.

Yeah, for the part of my childhood in SE Asia we had at least a half a dozen varieties. Lots of more interesting fruit than you can get in the US.

Most notably is how terrible pineapples are in the US.

And Cavendish bananas are essentially flavour-free.

There’s a place in Miami that sells a variety box of bananas. https://miamifruit.org/products/banana-variety-box

This is great, thanks!

We grow our own and are looking at a variety called "ice cream". I figured the name was exaggerated, but now you have me second-guessing that...

EDIT: Apparently they're in fact the same cultivar. The bananas start off blue and ripen to yellow.

Today's banana exists because its predecessor was wiped out.

That "banana" flavored novocaine is what that banana used to taste like.

There is apparently a disease stalking the current Cavendish strain, which is why finding a new commercial strain is becoming more urgent for the industry.

"Wiped out" is patently false. Gros Michel is pretty standard in Southeast Asia and still grows all over Central America.

Cavendish is actually still fairly susceptible to Panama disease and the Cavendish grown in parts of SEA are being pretty handily wiped out.

The real problem is the want to transport unripen bananas with thick skins to market and have them look ripe and unbruised. Bananas don't seem to want to breed pretty and thick skins.

I’d wondered if it was still possible to taste a Gros Michel or if it was lost to time, glad I’ve just been traveling to the wrong places!

Hope they are looking at plantains too, which look like bananas, but aren't the same. Was totally tricked when seeing them for the first time. They aren't eaten raw, but are usually cooked. Plantains are a popular food of the Caribbean.

Banancestors

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