After sampling the tasty treats around Oahu, I had to stop by a farmers market to witness the local food revolution firsthand. Luckily, Kapiolani Community College hosts a weekly market on Saturdays. While the vendors sell everything from tomatoes to abalone, the deliciousness of fresh local pineapple is hard to beat. I arrived around 8 a.m. and found the market already bustling with activity. Here are the highlights.
I'm taking a Chinese class right now, and one of the phrases that came up in a book was "xiangjiao pingguo" (translation: banana apple). Whenever anyone says the phrase - which has become the class's go-to noun - we all wonder, what on earth is a banana apple? Well, today we found out. One of the folks in my class stumbled across Manzano Bananas and since manzano means apple tree in Spanish, we knew we'd found our fruit.
After a bit of research I discovered that these bananas are often known as "apple bananas" and are grown in South America, Mexico, The Caribbean, Asia and Africa. So what makes an apple banana an apple banana? Well first of all it's smaller than normal bananas and drier too. The fruit is sweeter and the odor and flavor have a scent of apple and a hint of strawberry. I'm not sure I would have made the apple connection on my own, but it was definitely a tasty treat. If you have the opportunity to try one, I highly recommend it.
Have you ever had an apple banana? If so, what did you think of it?
Source: Hormel
