Going Bananas

We seem to have trouble leaving well-enough alone. Recently we mere mortals committed the unnatural sin of turning cauliflower orange. But now we're going a bit too far. According to an Associated Press story:

Bananas flavored with the hint of another fruit could help Chiquita Brands International Inc. become the Starbucks of the produce world, the company's leader says.

Chiquita has taken its bananas to the research lab as part of an effort to make the fruit more appealing to consumers -- and to persuade them to pay more, said President and Chief Executive Officer Fernando Aguirre.

For competitive reasons, the company would not specify flavors it is researching and declined to reveal how different sorts of bananas would be created other than to say the fruit would not be genetically modified.

"I have seen about eight and tasted four or five different types," Aguirre said of the flavored bananas. "Now we need to find out from consumers if this is relevant and whether it is something they would be willing to pay for."

The company hopes to test some of its new products in the United States or Europe within a year, Aguirre said.

Dear Oblivious Executives at Chiquita: Strawberry-Banana is the flavor of a smoothie - NOT a form of produce unto itself. Get over your "Mother Nature" complex and get back to your roots - or banana groves as it were. Listen to your inner Chiquita! Can't you hear it?....

I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say - Bananas have to ripen in a certain way- When they are fleck'd with brown and have a golden hue - Bananas taste the best and are best for you - You can put them in a salad - You can put them in a pie-aye - Any way you want to eat them - It's impossible to beat them - But, bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator - So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator.