STRANGE BANANA COMPARISON - Weird Fruit Explorer Ep. 347

[@catdurrant5694]

"My heaters are on, and I'm not turning them off for you! No! Also my cat is running around making noise." Seriously, the background noise, locations and feline guest appearances are all part of what I love about these videos.

[@WeirdExplorer]

Its a feature!

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I live for bonus cat moments.

[@Iamunoriginal2]

Don't you mean your cat is going *bananas*? I will be here all week

[@WeirdExplorer]

hahaha

[@sharonslife6153]

Saba is a cooking banana, flavor completely changes entirely when fried, similar to plantain but better in my opinion. Saba is often fried on a stick. Thank you for sharing.

[@mrminer071166]

Summary of WFE # 347 3:10 Sweetheart; Melting texture, mild Cavendish flavor 4:05 Cuban Green; Dense, hint of strawberry 5:04 Nam Wah; Firm, marshmallow flavor 5:40 Cuban Red; Dense, mild Cavendish flavor 6:50 Saba; plaintain, sweet potato 8:20 Pisang Rajah; Like Cavendish Order: 1 Cuban Green on top! 2 Sweetheart 3 Nam Wah 4 Saba 5 Pisang Rajah 6 Cuban Red worst of bunch

[@mandab.3180]

mmmmm experiencing banana envy. 😂 bananas are so tasty. i want to try them all!

[@LadyAster]

I can't believe you got all of those ripe at the same time, super cool! Now I want a banana

[@jbomb7867]

Found some saba bananas at an Asian market and they are absolutely delicious cooked unripe. I let one ripen and thoroughly enjoyed it too. Mine had a little bit of acidity that gave it a slight berry flavor. Definitely a new favorite overall!

[@snow-puppetsofficial360]

Is that a Modest Mouse pfp?

[@CollectionFreak]

This video is making me miss eating bananas so much. I'm allergic to bananas now and I'm so sad. I used to be able to eat bananas, but now I get really sick if I do.. 😣 bananas were definitely my favorite fruit!

[@slaapkaamers3377]

One of the five channels I'm subscribed to. Out of those five this is number 1. Thank you for consistently and continually creating both entertaining and educational content. Fruit is nature's product of love. It brings me joy.

[@WeirdExplorer]

so glad to hear that. thank you

[@FORGOTTENMINDFREAK23]

I knew plantains are edible, and I knew Cavendish and lady finger bananas before seeing these videos. But a common misconception in the West, at least from what I know, is that bananas nowadays are some sort of Cavendishx cultivars. I'm not sure why they say that, I know they try to cross propagate with Cavendish to help protect from diseases, but they make it sound like all other bananas are extinct, like that French named one that artificial banana flavour mirrors. Which is why it surprises me to see all these varieties that I wish I could get a hold of.

[@Michael-db1ce]

I see an image of Jesus in the Cuban Green banana as it was peeled.

[@jaiden9564]

Lmao I see

[@tarquinbristow]

It's Castro..

[@lisaheisey6168]

I've really enjoyed the videos on bananas. I like bananas so much, that I literally have to "ration" my eating bananas, because if I didn't, I'd easily eat the entire bunch in one day.

[@WeirdExplorer]

thanks! plenty more in the future I'm sure

[@goatpen]

2:09 i love the smile on the banana

[@pauliethemushroomman]

Never met a banana I didn’t love. Favs include manzano, pisang mas, orito, Hawaiian plantain and even cavendish.

[@ozymandiasii2802]

If you're interested in rare apple varieties, there's a place called treemendus [sic] fruit in michigan which grows over 200 varieties and will ship throughout the US. Only during the fall though, obviously

[@sleepnomore6065]

permanently closed as of 2023

[@amy7189]

"Maybe have a little bit of noise" *ra-tat-tat* awesome timing XD I've now tried the red Dacca banana (bit berry flavoured, slightly dense, not as good as a Cavendish), burro (tasted very bland) and "apple banana" - I had the squidgy dried variety so really it just tasted like dried banana / a bit dried-date like. I'm so far disappointed by my exotic fruit experiences =(

[@WeirdExplorer]

aw man. Give the apple banana another try if you find a good one. I'm soso about burros, whats interesting is that they are a dual purpose banana so they're used unripe for cooking.

[@amy7189]

Weird Explorer It just gives me even more reason to go hunt them down myself; having imported fruit that likely aren't the best quality (sold more as a "novelty" than for flavour) doesn't really provide the same experience as I suspect getting the fruit locally does. I just need to get over the "lone backpacker" nerves =s Ooh I'll give cooking burros a bash; I do like a nice battered banana so I might give that a go \^-^/

[@joeoneal1501]

Very cool video. About 50 years ago when I was stationed in Long Bihn Vietnam I picked a small cluster of bananas from a plant growing near my barracks. It was green so I took it inside my hooch and hung it up to ripen. It eventually turned a beautiful yellow with just a bit of a pink blush on part of the skin. The taste was very much like an apple--absolutely the best bananas that I've ever had. They were not very big, and not plump at all. Do you have any idea what they might have been. I used to have a picture of them but I couldn't find it.

[@fizixx]

Sounds delicious!

[@mrazcr000]

Burro Banana

[@darkorys8012]

About the way to open the banana, if you open it from the bottom, it is easier to break the peel, if you do it as you usually do you can smash the tip trying to open the banana.

[@hannakinn]

When I was a child we lived in an apartment complex in Brownsville, Texas for awhile. They had banana plants as part of their very lush landscaping. The very nice pool guy Jose would pick bananas for my sister and I. Those bananas were the best bananas I ever tasted. They were smaller than a cavendish, sweet, dense and very flavorful. It's been half a century and I still remember how good they were. We used to beg Jose to pick some for us and be really happy when he did. They were better than candy! The apartment complex owners are long dead and to my horror I discovered online that the entire complex was torn down and the site bulldozed. I doubt they still had the lush plantings there that they'd had in the sixties at the end anyway. It seems as if my favourite banana of all time will remain a mystery for life. Have you reviewed boysenberries? I love them, I used to live in California where you can get them fresh but now am on the east coast where you never see them. They are fragile and do not ship well.

[@cardimars757]

Texas eh? Not exactly a place I'd expect flavorful bananas to be growing in lol.

[@hannakinn]

Otis 8 - I know it sounds odd but I promise you it's true. Brownsville is close to the gulf of Mexico, we used to have a lot of rain there, hot and damp, and a lot of afternoon thunderstorms.

[@nicolewilliams6368]

Once accidentally spilled peroxide on the kitchen counter... right under the fruit basket where bananas were hanging. We didn't realize right away that the peroxide had spilled. It wasn't until all our bananas ripened super fast that we realized what happened.

[@mclovin2232]

Saba are used as both a dessert and plantain bananas depending on ripeness

[@lynm.8787]

The Cuban red I had was soo sweet.

[@marycolabella4212]

holy COW! i just ordered the banana variety box on monday and this is gonna be AWESOME

[@Dockhead]

little theory for ripening bananas in a colder climate for me i find try keep them somewhere humid and warm and sort of scrape your thumb the flat skin down the skin of the banana on all sides and surfaces and i just find they go brown and ripen delicious after a day or 2 maybe its because of the gases like you said? maybe its accelerating that, im not sure. in the UK sometimes our bananas come in looking like plantain because they are so unripe.

[@cryolith]

We ordered a box from Miami Fruit, and got some of the Pisang Raja. I think yours needed another 3 days. Ours were fantastic.

[@WeirdExplorer]

Ah nice. Yeah it tasted better when it got a bit riper.

[@Jerdy808]

So weird. I've not had bananas from Florida, but grow most of these in Hawaii and except for the Namwah, taste quite different than what you described. The Green Red should taste very close to the Cuban Red and neither should taste like a cavendish, though the (awful) pasty, mushy, texture should be similar. Saba should just turn yellow normally. None of those reviewed are in my top 20 or so. I've not had Pisang Raja though.

[@marialiyubman]

The people judging your peeling skills are doing it wrong because monkeys don’t type comments judging your peeling skills.

[@kawannahardy2924]

Cool. I Looove bananas😍, even the Cavendish 😕. What do you think may wind up being the next common place banana in the U.S. when the Cavendish dies out?

[@WeirdExplorer]

Goldfinger I think is a big contender. They're good! similar tasting but a bit more flavorful

[@dylanbrown7482]

The goldfinger banana, they have already selected it.

[@spicefreak4726]

That Raja had such a rich and enticing colour of flesh!

[@luckdemon3415]

wonder how cold it was it got to -52c this winter it sucked i tried to open the door and my hand froze to the knob that was painful

[@RCmaniac1231]

I’ve thought about ordering the banana box from Miami fruit before but the thing that’s stopping me and the thing that’s stopping me from ordering anything from them is the fruit ripening too much before I can even get to all or even a good portion of them

[@shixkenya1203]

Enjoyed this one too...have you come across the "gashuru?" It's a slim banana that gets ripe without changing the skin color...the green just gets slightly lime green...?

[@WeirdExplorer]

I don't believe I have. I did have this one which is eaten green. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lamQqpubbqyZpbs

[@berliannahaz423]

Pisang Raja(King 🇮🇩) Banana is my Fav. it must be eaten ripe. It has strong fiber. It tasted quite creamy. It's usually for baking cooking some desserts. As a filling(w choco & cheese) for croissant-like pastry. Or cooked in a coconut milk w palm sugar + cinnamon. Or inside a steam cake made of rice flour & coconut milk🤤🤤❤️

[@kevinocta9716]

Huh that 3:58 I feel like you got it a little overripe, because the one I had was much more 'banana' flavor than a banana, not less. I thought it was one of my favorites. Reminded me a bit of a fig + banana the way the core was.

[@affiliatedmember6940]

Love bananas

[@Rmssvenskhiphop]

Thanks again, always fantastic content.

[@WeirdExplorer]

thanks!

[@stanervin6108]

On the red cuban: The force is strong on this one 🍌👽

[@nonameneeded9267]

Not sure if you already tasted the following fruits in past episodes, but you should go to Italy and do two things. First, try how amazing fruits taste there (like regular fruits, e.g. peaches or tomatoes, in Italy taste just like... Sun. I don't have a better way to describe how amazing they taste, especially those sold at the local fruit markets). Second, in Italy you should look for these "less mainstream" (I mean more rare) fruits: Eriobotrya japonica (originally from Asia but now endemic in Italy), Mespilus germanica, Chinotto of Savona (protected denomination), Annona of Reggio Calabria (protected denomination), Morus alba, Morus nigra, Italian jujube of Colli Euganei (protected denomination), Mandarancio (a hybrid of mandarin and orange coming from Sicily), Mela Cotogna, Acca sellowiana (originally from South America but imported in the Mediterranean area and generation by generation has now developed a distinctive flavour compared to its progenitors), white plum (originally from the Balkan area, arrived centuries ago in Italy naturally and now endemic of certain areas). And there are many other weird local varieties of apples, pears, peaches, etc... not commercialized on a big scale (you can even foraging as most of the time the fields in the countryside are open, and Italians are very welcoming and they won't complain if you take one fruit, especially if you ask permission). And of course there is an uncountable variety of tomatoes with amazing tastes, particularly in the South of Italy, like Cuor di Bue (literally "Bull's heart", goo.gl/images/YgRDxq ).

[@samporter9785]

I used to eat sabah bananas almost daily in the Philippines, in lots of cooked dishes.

[@solfischer613]

You said in a pepper video all you were doing off cam was eating peppers.Was it the same for this?Did u have to eat 15 bananas in one sitting?

[@alr.3137]

Which borough do you live in New York Jared?

[@subredditsandorigami7274]

rip the mail man he died in the cold.

[@MrCJSherrill]

if u peel it from the blossom end, the strings stay attached to the peel edit: jk you already know that do it the monkey way

[@sharendonnelly7770]

Banana episode background noises, i.e. ambience! The stage is set for a cold wintery banana fest! Drum roll, please... So, my question to you, 60+ years ago, when I was very young, in Oregon we used to get these tiny red bananas that tasted of strawberry and rose, much smaller and thinner than the Cuban Red bananas. Peel was a burgundy red color, with slender fruit about 4 inches long and barely 1/2 inch wide. They were sold by the hand, and I have never seen them since. Are you aware of this specific banana? And, where would it have come from? Was definitely not a Cavendish, as it really did not have the typical "banana" flavor, or remotely like what a banana would be defined as tasting. Flesh, as I recall, was pale, not yellow, and very creamy. Tried searching it, but, alas, have not found anything that describes them exactly. Great video!

[@redsailor101]

I have ALWAYS peeled my bananas the way you do..never even thought of trying on the other end.

[@GreatSpiralWarrior]

Have you tried the blue java bananas?

[@WeirdExplorer]

No! I'd like to though

[@desu38]

Okay, here's what I don't get. With apples you can easily get elstar, kanzi, granny smith, pink lady, golden delicious, etc., to name a few off the top of my head. Meanwhile, with bananas, it's cavendish or bust. What is up with that???

[@censusgary]

The “Cuban Green” sounds a lot like the bananas I had in Cuba. I never heard a name for them other than “bananas,” but they were much as you describe. Of course, that was before my real fruit exploring days. If I were there now, I would ask many more questions about the fruit.

[@WeirdExplorer]

Oh nice!

[@Cicada11011]

I’m 20 and just realizing my elementary school was serving us unripe bananas… they were red and hard. If I waited a little longer they probably would of tasted really good…

[@sharonolsen6579]

I had NO IDEA there were so many types of bananas ! woa ! ...

[@mrsenstitz]

Sorry Jared, Pisang the malay/ Indonesian word for banana has no stress on the word. It’s equal peasang. Da da not tahDah. Keep on loving the fruits.

[@WeirdExplorer]

thanks for letting me know!

[@emcrectangled]

so far the nam wa (or however it's spelled) sounds pretty nice

[@emcrectangled]

yep, looks like that might be my favorite

[@StevenHughes-hr5hp]

Unlike Cavendish some bananas are not really ripe when bright yellow. They have to look black and totally overripe. Took a while to figure that out.

[@seanduffy7551]

Miami fruit!!!

[@RealMaxoou262]

It reminds me the movie Mall Cop 2 with the browness banana I ever seen!

[@stormevans6897]

Not a big fan of red bananas personally, at least so far. Even when they seemed overly ripe it was like eating a plantain.

[@chaseparker6703]

I can’t find Pesing keling bananas anywhere :(

[@thenamesaregone9]

So what are your top 5 of all time?

[@WeirdExplorer]

Ooh... thats a tough one. Maybe a good top ten episode for the future. My absolute favorite was Pisang Keling from malaysia, though now I'm thinking those Cuban greens might be a tie with that,

[@manuelbover4816]

I would love to know which is your all-time favorite banana hands down this is the one you would eat if you could everyday.

[@XX-gy7ue]

SO WONDERFULLY NUTS - ( BANANAS ) !

[@takutolovex]

Try giant red banana?

[@renaebettenhausen3611]

About the back ground noise: No apology needed. The reality of life is that it's noisy. I recently read an article about eating the peal. Do you ever eat the peals?

[@Nemrai]

Mostly I just use a knife to make a cut at the base of the stem, then I peel it. That's the easiest.

[@chalseywilder937]

Lmao. I know how you feel. We don't need you becoming a human popsicle lol

[@Foodlebear]

Would love to try, but it is very expensive!!

[@--Paws--]

That title... Lately you have been focusing on bananas.

[@vahannema]

isn't really surprising since now he's gotten 2 large boxes with what i assume to be about 20 kg of bananas :P

[@--Paws--]

I see

[@WeirdExplorer]

Thats the last box of bananas... for now

[@thebluenoble6175]

Thanks Jared I just got a variety box didn’t know what I got

[@WeirdExplorer]

Nice! How are they?

[@ZE308AC]

I feel like buying one variety box of bananas for my birthday.

[@thebluenoble6175]

@@WeirdExplorer mine had more of a pumpkin flavor i think it was the psang raja just left out a bit longer. i dont like my bananas with any green on them i tend to let em go until theyre soft and yellow. they had a really dense rich flavor still kinda dry until you bit them

[@sleepnomore6065]

But you didn't list your favs!

[@andrewheather4970]

Weird Explorer could you do boysenberry on your weird fruit explorer episodes

[@WeirdExplorer]

that would be a good one. berries are tricky, so hopefully I can find some

[@hannakinn]

That was so weird. I asked about boysenberries before reading comments then I saw yours. I love boysenberries. I used to live in California and could get them fresh. I also loved that I could get boysenberry products there, I especially loved boysenberry yogurt. I live on the east coast now and never see fresh boysenberries. I've been told they're fragile, age quickly and don't ship well. I have to make do with the preserves and cookies that I can order. I hope boysenberries get reviewed. I think the boysenberry is a very underappreciated berry. That might be due to their not being available across wide much of the US.

[@diannaodman2847]

@@hannakinn there my favorite berry for pies , i grow my own

[@hannakinn]

Dianna Odman - Lucky you!!!!!

[@bronydoc1220]

can say it was bananas!

[@portomastersgfwe5055]

Beware at min 4:05 Jesus in a banana!!!

[@JoeEnderman]

I like to peel bananas from the bottom. Much easier.

[@tay7366]

I went to banana island in Luxor Egypt I hate bananas but the ones there were quite nice

[@harukrentz435]

Banana in egypt?

[@aaronb4493]

There are sooo many different banana varieties.

[@WeirdExplorer]

over a thousand!

[@keegsmarshall6610]

@@WeirdExplorer 😮

[@jeffreywickens3379]

The Saba is a cooking banana.

[@MOOSTACHE_Official]

i like bananas ❤🍌

[@WeirdExplorer]

👍

[@TheWeirdestOfBugs]

We're going bananas for bananas.

[@alejandroguerra9413]

Maybe just do the video take when the banana is ripe and put it all together in post so we can know what it's actually supposed to taste like?

[@2.7petabytes]

More bananas than a Woodie Allen movie! Sorry, just had to do that one ;-)

[@chadowarts4418]

You still need to try the "blue" banana.

[@marufhossain6793]

সাগর কলা কোথায় ভাই?

[@gabe5204]

7:14 Thats what she said :'(

[@RasputinReview]

"I am not a monkey" well... technically...

[@am9826]

Technically humans are apes, not monkeys

[@brorush1]

DAVID BOWIE IS BANANAS

[@yvelf]

those bananas you call cuban arent cuban. they are also found in Puerto Rico. and no, they weren't brought to Puerto Rico from Cuba.

[@Lady8D]

Can't fool me! I see the red stains on your fingers and that banana's paint job could use some touching up! jk...tho I did have to look and make sure this wasn't another April Fools video =}

[@lionberryofskyclan]

uhh am I alone in liking unripe bananas? I also hate ripe bananas...

[@GigsTaggart]

You come across as annoyed and upset in this video. Everything OK?

[@WeirdExplorer]

There's nothing wrong! *punches wall*

[@Robotdoge01]

talk about bananas fe'i

[@k8eekatt]

Are you banannnnannas for bananas?

[@cerberaodollam]

Technically, you are an Old World monkey. :P

[@stumbling]

*zzzzzip* So, how are we gonna judge this? Oh... my mistake *zzzzzip*

[@theeel8981]

Is there something you’re trying to tell us with these bananas?