Bananas (was [Sca-cooks] Late-period Caribbean food )

[Decker, Terry D.]

You're probably thinking of "Lady Fingers."  They are usually around 3
inches with creamy flesh and very sweet flavor.  The texture is denser than
that of the Cavendish.  They may also be called Sugars, Baby Bananas,
Mysore, Ninos, Dwarf and Chicaditas.

"Gros Michels" (AKA "Big Mikes") are the BIG bright yellow bananas from the
grocery.  The "Cavendish" is similar, but shorter, blunter, duller in color
and thinner skinned.  It also developes a speckeled brown skin as it ripens.
Gros Michel travels better.  Cavendish tastes better.  The Canary Island
banana is a subvariety of Cavendish.  Cavendishes have been replacing Gros
Michel's in the commercial market.  Chiquita brand is mostly various
varieties of Cavendish, for example.

"Colorados" (AKA Red bananas or Red Cubans) have reddish brown skins with
yellowish-pink flesh.  They're sweet with a creamy texture and are ripe when
blackish patches start forming on the skin.

"Burro" bananas are a chunky, lemon-tasting banana from Mexico.  Also called
Lemon banana.

There are some other specialty bananas you occasionally come across in U.S.
markets (green bananas for cooking come to mind), but I think the above are
the major varieties you will encounter.

I suspect Acosta is referring to bananas when he uses the term "plátanos,"
and that the Spanish usage may refer to both plantains and bananas.  In
general, plantains require cooking, while bananas do not.  I don't know
about serving plantains with honey, but I have been trying to document a
(presumably) Medieval Arabic dish are served sliced, topped with honey and
nuts.

Bear

> Are those the tiny bananas?  hmm..that would be very nice if 
> it were true.  
> I am quite fond of the tiny ones.
> And would the plantains then be served with honey as the 
> custom currently 
> does?
> Olwen