Eight types of bananas are grown commercially in Mexico

In an earlier post, The geography of banana production in Mexico, we provided an overview of banana production in Mexico. Eight different kinds of bananas are grown in Mexico (see graphic). The harvesting of bananas is mainly in the third quarter of each year.

The eight main types of bananas grown in Mexico are:

• Cavendish gigante – thick skin, milder taste, the most popular of the smaller varieties, 55% of national production, half of it from Tabasco
• Macho – plantains, best eaten cooked; about 15% of national production, mainly in Chiapas (municipalities of Suchiate and Acapetahua), Tabasco (Centro and Cunduacán) and Veracruz (Otatitlán and Tlacojalpan)
• Tabasco – high quality, medium sized fruit with excellent flavor. About 7% of national production
• Valery – less firm fruit, consistency more like a cherry (4%)
• Dominico – short, squat, relatively straight and sweet-tasting (3%)
• Pera – fat, slightly curved, and up to 24 cm in length. Each finger can weigh 300 grams (2%)
• Manzano – long rhizomes, pleasant taste and smell (1%)
• Morado – disease resistant, stronger tasting, orange-tinted skin (0.5%)

Mexican banana and plantain recipes (from MexConnect)

• Chicken Cooked in Avocado and Banana Leaves: Pílte de Pollo
• Banana Bread: Panqué de Plátano
• Mexican filled plantain croquettes: Croquetas de platano rellenos
• Mexican plantains with vanilla cream: Postre de platanos con vainilla
• Mashed plantains with pork rinds: Machuca de platano con chicharrones
• Mexican plantain empanadas with picadillo: Empanadas de platano
• Yucatan style plantain soup: Sopa de platano yucateca
• Crunchy Mexican plantain fritters: Aranitas

Related posts:

• The geography of banana production in Mexico