Pale yellow and quite stocky, apple bananas are available year round, making a great air dried snack, packed in 8 ounces containers, this 4" fruits are sweet yet have a slight tartness. Manzano is the Spanish name for "Apple". The taste has also been compared to a cross between an apple and a very sweet banana. Apple bananas turn completely black when ripe. Great for fresh fruit dessert due to their resistance to turning brown when peeled.

An excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B-6 and potassium, the banana is low in fat, cholesterol-free, low in sodium and provides fiber. Some medications for controlling blood pressure deplete the body's storage of potassium. One banana each day restores the potassium balance. An average sized banana has about 95 calories. Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended to lower chances of cancer. A recent study found eating nine or ten daily servings of fruits and vegetables, combined with three servings of low-fat dairy products, effectively lowers blood pressure.

Growing wild in Hawaii along the seriously rainy Hamakua Coast on the Big Island and especially loving gulches and ditches, the apple banana plant grows much taller than the common banana plant and requires more maintenance. The Hamakua Coast is located North of Hilo and with annual rainfall topping out over a whopping ten feet, it definitely earns the title of the rainiest city in the United States. Considered a premium banana and also known as manzano, islanders love growing the exceptional apple banana plant in their backyard. This banana takes about fifteen months from planting to harvest. A member of the Musa paradisiaca species and from the Musaceae family, new varieties of bananas are being developed and are now available in American markets. Smaller bananas are especially becoming increasingly popular and setting a new banana trend.