Bananas are a staple of most people’s fruit bowl but most of us only know a few varieties – the variety that can survive overseas shipping.
We should all be eating them as they’re packed with potassium and fiber but they’re not necessarily the best tasting bananas on the planet.
Now foodies are raving about a variety that is grown in Hawaii, is fluffier than your average banana, is blue and best of all: tastes like vanilla ice cream.
Unlike the banana variety that we are used to that are green before they are ripe, the Java banana, or ‘ice cream’ banana is blue before it’s ripe, then turns yellow as it ripens.
As well as Hawaii these tasty morsels can also be found growing in southeast Asia and parts of central America. In Fiji they’re known as the Hawaiian banana, in the Philippines they are called Krie and in central America they’re known as Cenizo.
The beauty of these trees is they can tolerate cold climates but do require a temperature of at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
You will be forgiven for thinking this magical fruit is a new discovery but farmers have been growing these in Hawaii since the early 1920s, according to Ken Love, executive director of Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers.
“There are over 100 types of bananas in Hawaii, all tasting different,” Ken told The Huffington Post. “It’s really the diversity that’s interesting.”
These sweet delights aren’t even the sweetest variety of bananas, Ken added.
Unfortunately ice cream bananas are not readily available in all stores but you can order them online or better still grow them yourself.
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