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Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in Russia, and throughout the world. Such popularity is due to a pleasant sweet taste, nutrition, low price. Choosing good bananas is not difficult, it is enough to know a few basic nuances. In this article, I will talk about these nuances, as well as about the varieties of bananas that are not yet very common in Russian supermarkets – about red and dwarf bananas.
General Selection Rules
First of all, you need to decide whether you want to buy a very ripe fruit with sweet and loose pulp or not quite ripe – with a crumb that is harder and not very sweet.
Very ripe and sweet fruits usually do not have pronounced ribbing, smooth to the touch, have a bright yellow color and a number of different brownish-brownish spots and stripes. To the touch, they are quite soft. You need to eat them within a day after the purchase, otherwise they will deteriorate. By the way, the French do not eat such slightly overripe bananas raw, but fry them.
It is important to be able to distinguish ripe fruits from rotten ones. Rotten (or rotten) ones are usually very soft, and the spots on them are large and brownish-black. If you slightly press on the spot, a dent is formed. Such bananas should not be bought – they have already begun to deteriorate. I would say that bananas are best with a slightly ribbed peel, colored in a rich yellow color and containing a minimum amount of brown spots. Such bananas have a very balanced taste.
Not very ripe bananas – with hard and not very sweet pulp – are distinguished by a pronounced ribbing and pale yellow color. If the color is greenish, then the banana is completely immature, its taste is astringent, unpleasant. Of course, unripe bananas ripen quickly enough. And it is unripe bananas that should be bought in case you plan to eat them (or use them for a salad or other dish) only after a few days.
In any case, I do not advise buying bananas with cracked (even slightly) peel, as well as those that have been separated from the bunch “with meat” (that is, bananas without peduncles).
Now it is worth saying a few words about the rather original bananas – red and dwarf yellow. Yes, they are still rarely found on sale, but many look at them with interest.
Red bananas have a brownish-red skin and yellowish flesh, not very loose and quite sweet. In my opinion, there is no noticeable difference in taste from the classic yellow bananas, moreover, the difference is rather for the worse. Red bananas are very expensive – from 150 rubles per kilogram. They say that they need to be fried – after frying, they will taste like a kind of sweet potato and can serve as a good side dish.
It should be borne in mind, however, that in their homeland – in southern India, in the Seychelles and in some other countries – red bananas are considered the best, delicacy. But, as an expert on India told me, they are too poorly stored – they simply do not have time to bring them to Russia. Only bananas of rooker varieties are brought to us, the taste of which is noticeably worse. But if you are in India or other countries where red bananas are grown, be sure to try them.
Small (dwarf) yellow bananas are also quite rare in stores and are also very expensive – from 150 rubles per kilogram, that is, about three times more expensive than usual. They really have a very good sweet taste, a pleasant aroma and delicate pulp, but, in my opinion, it is not worth overpaying for them such money.
It is worth saying that in fact there are a large number of varieties of bananas, but we – Russian buyers – are not pampered with an abundance of varieties. Not all varieties are able to withstand a long way to Russia, and some withstand, but lose their taste. Banana lovers can be advised to go to tropical islands, India or Latin America – there you can taste various bananas; prices are very low.
Storage of bananas
Do not separate bananas from the bunch or place them near a battery or stove. Place the whole bunch in a dry, darkened place. It is not necessary to put bananas in the refrigerator, the best temperature for their storage is 15-25 degrees.
Good luck with your shopping and bon appetit
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