Your one-stop shop for exotic and classic bananas from around the world!
Description: The most popular banana in the world. It's the classic sweet, creamy, and reliable supermarket banana you know and love.
How to Use: The perfect all-rounder. Eat it fresh, slice it over cereal, blend it into smoothies, or bake it into delicious banana bread.
Description: A small, thin-skinned banana that is exceptionally sweet with a creamy texture and a hint of honey.
How to Use: Their small size makes them a perfect snack for kids. They are also fantastic in fruit salads or as a dessert banana.
Description: Easily identified by its stunning maroon to purple peel. The flesh is soft, sweet, and carries a slight raspberry flavor.
How to Use: Best eaten fresh to enjoy its unique flavor. It makes a beautiful, colorful addition to fruit salads and dessert plates.
Description: A cooking banana. Plantains are starchy, not sweet, when green and become sweeter as they ripen to black.
How to Use: Must be cooked! Fry green plantains for tostones or chips. Fry ripe (yellow/black) plantains for sweet maduros. Also great boiled or baked.
Description: The famous "Ice Cream Banana"! It has a beautiful silvery-blue peel when young and an incredibly creamy, vanilla-custard-like flavor.
How to Use: The ultimate dessert banana. Eat it fresh and savor the ice cream flavor, or use it to make amazing "nice cream" smoothies.
Description: Also known as the "Apple Banana." This short, chubby banana has a complex, gourmet flavor with a distinct apple-strawberry finish.
How to Use: A fantastic dessert banana. Eat it fresh, pair it with cheese on a cheese board, or use it in fruit tarts.
Description: The "Big Mike" was the dominant banana before the Cavendish. It's known for a richer, creamier taste and a stronger "banana" flavor.
How to Use: A legendary banana for eating fresh. It also makes the absolute best classic banana splits, milkshakes, and puddings.
Description: A chunky, square-shaped banana with a tangy, crisp, and slightly lemon-like flavor when ripe. It's firm in texture.
How to Use: This versatile banana can be eaten fresh, but it truly shines in cooking. Use it in savory dishes, curries, or stews where it holds its shape.
Description: Indonesian for "King of Bananas." This variety is firm, rich, and has a perfect balance of sweet and slightly tangy notes.
How to Use: The number one banana for making Indonesian *pisang goreng* (banana fritters). Also excellent for baking or eating fresh.
Description: A modern hybrid banana, popular for its pest resistance. It has a pleasantly sweet and slightly tart flavor, almost like a Cavendish crossed with an apple.
How to Use: Great for eating fresh. Its flesh is slow to brown, making it a perfect choice for slicing into fruit salads or packing in a lunchbox.
Description: A prized and protected variety from India. It's known for its unique sweet-sour taste, distinct aroma, and soft, pulpy texture.
How to Use: A gourmet banana best eaten fresh to appreciate its unique, complex flavor profile. A true treat for banana connoisseurs.
Description: Short, stout, and slightly seeded. This is a staple in Thai cuisine, with a firm texture and a balanced, mild sweetness.
How to Use: Incredibly versatile. Eat it fresh, grill it for a street-food snack, or cook it in coconut milk for the classic dessert *Kluai Buat Chi*.
Description: A striking banana from the Pacific Islands, with a vibrant orange or red peel and bright yellow-orange flesh. It is not sweet.
How to Use: This is a cooking banana, similar to a plantain or sweet potato. It must be boiled, baked, or roasted before eating.
Description: A very popular dessert banana in Malaysia and Indonesia. It has bright yellow flesh, a sweet taste, and a pleasant, mild aroma.
How to Use: Primarily eaten fresh as a delicious, sweet snack. A simple and perfect dessert on its own.
Description: A large, square-ish cooking banana from the Philippines. It's very firm and starchy, with a mild, slightly sweet flavor when cooked.
How to Use: A workhorse in Filipino cuisine. Use it in savory stews (like *pochero*) or sweet snacks (like *turon* or *banana-cue*).
Description: A small, thin-skinned banana popular in India. It has a delightful sweet-and-sour flavor profile that sets it apart.
How to Use: Eaten fresh as a snack. Its tangy-sweet taste provides a refreshing and complex alternative to the standard Cavendish.
Description: The "gentle giant" of plantains, this variety can grow up to two feet long! It's a cooking banana that is milder than a regular plantain.
How to Use: A cooking variety. Its massive size makes it great for baking, frying, or roasting for a crowd. Can be eaten fresh if fully ripe.
Description: A fascinating novelty banana where two "hands" of bananas are fused together, resembling hands in prayer.
How to Use: Makes a fantastic, edible centerpiece. The bananas can be eaten fresh; simply peel the fused fingers apart. They are semi-sweet and firm.
Description: A thick-skinned, angular, and very hardy banana. It's a versatile, starchy variety, also known as a "Burro."
How to Use: Highly versatile. Can be eaten fresh when fully ripe (it's soft and sweet), but is more commonly used for cooking. Fry it when green or bake it when ripe.
Description: A truly unique banana that grows an enormous stalk that can hold countless tiny, two-inch bananas.
How to Use: These are sweet, snack-sized treats. They are perfect for parties, kids, or just grabbing a small, sweet bite. Eaten fresh.