yummy!
murado, red variety
Aren't these great? I have a co-worker whose housemate came from Romblon who got these bananas for free. For free! According to her, the people from her housemate's hometown usually prefer fast food to fresh, free fruit. Wow, would I like to trade places with one of them!
They sure were a nice break from my regular supply of organic, but picked-unripe-from-the-tree saba, lagkitan and lakatan! So much sweeter and creamier too, with a different texture. Ooooh, how I loved them!
This got me thinking - how many of the banana varieties from the Philippines have I actually tried? There are about 7,107 islands in my country but so far, I am embarrassed to admit I have only tried Senorita, lakatan, lagkitan, saba, and those perfect-looking, spotless mutant bananas from the supermarket.
One of my favorite teachers, Bartholomew J. Laihiff, SJ challenged my history class to prioritize exploring the Philippines over venturing out of the country. I realize it is not too late to do this. And when I do, I think I will try to check out wild bananas instead of those pretty lakatans sold at road side fruit stands. (Aside from bananas, there are also a lot more mango varieties to be discovered. And I'm not even talking about hybrids. I was speaking with a farmer from Nueva Ecija and they have red mangoes.)
What varieties of mangoes/bananas do you have in your hometown? What should I be looking out for? Kontactr me!
Now, if I can only find banana-type pushpins for my Philippine map!
