Why All the Bananas at the Grocery Store Taste the Same

<p><span data-sheets-value="{" data-sheets-userformat="{">There are more than 1,000 different types of bananas in the world. So why do we only have one type of banana in the grocery store? This episode is an exploration into the rich diversity of bananas and plantains &mdash; and why North American grocery stores only sell one type. We talk with biologist Rob Dunn, who wrote a book about this topic, Von Diaz, an esteemed food writer and cookbook author, Meenakshi J., a freelance journalist who wrote an article about sacred bananas, Vidya Balachander, the South Asia editor at Whetstone, and Vanessa Mota, a food blogger behind My Dominican Kitchen, for more</span>.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Topics covered in this episode:</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 0:43: Meet Von Diaz</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 1:53: Differences between bananas and plantains</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 4:29: Meet Rob Dunn</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 8:03: Story of the Cavendish banana</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 13:28: Meet Meenakshi J.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 14:16: Bananas as divine offerings</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 15:40: Meet Vanessa Mota</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 16:55: Dominican mang&uacute;</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 18:30: Meet Vidya Balachander</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Min 20:04: Cooking and eating with banana leaves</span></li> <li style="font