Plantains, also sometimes called bananas, bananas, sweet plantains or bananas, are one of the most consumed fruits in the world. It is a fruit produced by a large number of species, hybrids and cultivars of the Musa genus. At an economic and food level it is so important that only wheat, rice and corn exceed the production of plantains and bananas worldwide.
If you want to learn more about the different types of bananasjoin us in this interesting article from EcologíaVerde.
Types of bananas – list of names
These are some of the most popular types of banana and produced:
- Gros Michel
- Cavendish
- Dwarf or Dominican banana
- plantain or banana
- red banana
- Tabasco banana and others
Gros Michel
The history of Banana Gros Michel it is the disappearance of an entire variety of plantain due to monoculture disasters. At the beginning of the 20th century, the consumption of this fruit spread and became popular at a great level in Europe and North America, which caused a large number of countries in Latin America to begin growing bananas on large farms.
In 1940 a fungus named Fusarium oxysporum, which attacked the roots of plants. As some of you may already know, modern bananas are seedless, which means that the plant does not reproduce sexually and, therefore, its genetic variety is very low. This makes it especially vulnerable to certain threats, as this one was.
Twenty years after its arrival, the fungus proved deadly and had wiped out Gros Michel farms across America. It was a variety of small size and great flavor, more intense than those currently marketed.
Cavendish
After the Gros Michel disaster, they found a variety resistant to the fungus. Its flavor was less intense and it was a larger fruit that was less easy to handle at an industrial level: the Cavendish banana, which ended up prevailing due to its resistance to fusarium oxysporum. Currently there are different Cavendish banana cultivars or types, which are the most consumed in many countries. The best known are the Great Dwarf, the Small Dwarf, the Lacatán, the Valery, the Robusta and the Poyo.
Cavendish bananas can be consumed raw as a dessert or appetizer, without the need to be cooked, and they account for a fairly high percentage of the world’s production of the fruit. They are yellow when ripe, with characteristic brown or black spots.
A variant of the fusarium oxysporum that attacks Cavendish bananas and, in the absence of effective control methods, this variety may share the fate of Gros Michel.
most of types of bananas from the Canary Islands belong to this group, specifically four of its five types: Lacatán, Poyo, Great Dwarf and Small Dwarf. The fifth variety is the Gros Michel, which has managed to continue growing, although in small numbers.
Dominican or dwarf banana
This is the smaller of the types of bananas in Mexico. is a variety very sweet despite its small size, which is why it is widely used in pastry, confectionery and in the preparation of sweet drinks.
It is very rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamins C and E, as well as having a high magnesium content.
plantain or banana
To the plantainusually also called banana, although depending on the region this word is simply used as a synonym for banana. The plantain is one of large size and weight. Its skin is thick and its pulp is of great consistency, in addition to offering a peculiar and less sweet flavor. It is one of the banana varieties that must be cooked for consumption and this one in particular is used in its different stages of the maturation process, both green and yellow or black, depending on the dish or product to be prepared.
On a nutritional level, it offers a high content of potassium and vitamin A, as well as fiber, manganese and vitamin B6. In general, in Europe it is quite unknown, but in many tropical countries its consumption is widespread.
red banana
It was already very popular in America, but recently this variety of banana has also begun to spread throughout the European continent. It’s about a thick-skinned banana, although the most striking thing about it for the less accustomed is undoubtedly the red or reddish brown color that gives it its name. Nor is his taste left behind, which has raspberry undertones.
The red banana It is a fruit suitable for consumption, both raw and cooked, and the WHO recommends it because, despite being rich in calories, it is also rich in minerals and other nutrients, in addition to offering a very low fat content.
Other types of bananas
We also find other banana varietiesAs the Tabasco banana or Roatan banana, which receives its name from the state of Mexico that produces it: Tabasco. It is a banana about 15 cm long, with yellow skin and without spots when ripe, with a mild flavor. Other names of banana varieties are:
- Mysore
- Bluggoe
- Orinoco
- rhinohorn
If you liked discovering these 10 types of bananas, their names, characteristics and photos, you may be interested in knowing the Care of the indoor banana plant.
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