Bananas Don’t Taste Like They Used To. Here’s Why
28th September 2025
As you cut sweet, creamy, and slightly airy slices of yellow banana into your morning cereal, it may be hard to imagine the familiar fruit tasting any different. Like the prisoners in Plato’s allegory of the cave, most Americans are unaware that today’s yellow banana is like a shadow of the one that preceded it—a yellow banana with a sweeter flavor, firmer texture, and better culinary versatility was once the norm. The long, curved, school-bus yellow banana that America first marveled at was a variety called the Gros Michel, or “Big Mike.”
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For a long time, I casually searched for the Gros Michel. I knew it would be difficult to find in stores, though from what I’d read the variety still existed. The longer I searched and the more I paid attention, the more it became incredibly clear to me how many bananas this country has for sale. Bodegas, convenience stores, airport kiosks, chain grocery stores, corporate cafeterias, hotel breakfast buffets—everywhere I happened upon a yellow banana, it was always a Cavendish.
Finally, one day, I was pleasantly surprised to find an online Gros Michel retailer called Miami Fruit. I ordered a small box of Gros Michel bananas and patiently waited for them to arrive at my door but realized I didn’t quite know how to qualitatively judge one banana against another. To truly understand how the elusive Gros Michel from years past compares to the Cavendish that litters produce stands today, I knew I had to speak with a bona fide fruit expert.