Ice Cream Bananas

Commodity Overview

Ice cream bananas are also called blue java or pata, and have delicate, easily bruised silvery blue-green skins that turn yellow when ripe. They have very white, creamy-textured flesh when ripe, with flavors of honey and custard. They're available year-round, but are considered a specialty variety.

Characteristics

Commodity: Specialty Bananas
Category: Specialties
Appearance: Short and stubby, with delicate silvery blue-green skins when immature that turn yellow when ripe
Flesh: Very white, with a creamy texture
Flavor: Honey or custard-like flavor
Size: Six inches or shorter
Color: Silvery blue-green when immature and yellow when ripe
Shape: Short and plump, compared to common bananas, with a slight curve
Served Raw: Yes
Seed: Tiny, edible black seeds arranged down the center of the fruit
Availability: Year-round
Additional Notes: Available primarily at farmers markets or specialty grocers

Retail Price Data is based on USDA Specialty Crops Market News surveys. Data collection ends on the report date and encompasses ad pricing good from the Saturday before the report release date through the following Friday. Weekly data - from over 400 retailers, comprising more than 30,000 individual stores with online weekly advertised features - covers over 250 produce items. Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.

USDA Specialty Crops Market News publishes FOB and Movement data on a daily and weekly basis. Pricing and volume information is aggregated by commodity and published weekly, subject to any source-data adjustments. Commodity data is further processed based on origin (domestic vs imports) and type (regular vs. organic). Registered (logged-in) users, can access weekly reports and additional market information.