From Ice Cream To Dwarf: A Guide To The Different Types Of Bananas Out There
Image Credit: Bananas (Photo Credit: Pixabay)

Bananas are easily the most versatile fruit in the world. They are available in all seasons, considered good for digestion, and they are full of minerals and vitamins. In many parts of the world, including India, people cook raw bananas and their leaves. Raw or green bananas have great utility, and they contain a different set of vitamins and antioxidants than what’s present in ripe bananas.


Here is a comprehensive list of various bananas produced around the world.


Ice Cream Bananas

Also called Blue java, these bananas are commonly grown in tropical areas like Hawaii, Central America, and the Southeast. They are of medium size and the insides are white and closely resemble the texture of snow. They also have an interesting vanilla flavour. The exterior has light blue to dark blue skin.


Cavendish Banana

This is a common variety and makes up 50 per cent of banana production. They have characteristic green to yellow colour, with a pale to brown flesh (depending on ripeness). They are native to but are produced across the world.


Manzano Banana

Known as Apple Bananas, this fruit is developed from the female flower of the plant and doesn’t have a seed. It has a mixed sweet and sour flavour and is often has a taste of both apple and bananas. Enjoyed overripe, the Manzano banana is also native to the Philippines.


Dwarf Cavendish Banana

Owing to its small size, this banana is called the dwarf Cavendish banana. The outer covering of this variety of bananas has a thick layer and the fruit gradually tapers till the tip. Native to Canary Island, it has green to yellow skin.


Red Banana

This variety is special to India and has a reddish to purple coloured outer thick skin. It has a thick and plummy skin and the flesh has a more creamy to a pinkish hue. The banana, too, has a sour and sweet taste.