The red banana has a purple peel and is best used for baking. The plantain is larger than other banana varieties, and is usually fried, baked, or mashed before eating. Yellow bananas are ripe and ready to eat, while green ones will ripen at room temperature in just a few days. Refrigerating ripe bananas will keep them from getting softy and mushy, though the peels will darken. Cavendish banana See banana .
Chinese apple See pomegranate .
Chinese star fruit See star fruit . They're more often found in the tropics. To crack one, hit it along its equator with a blunt instrument, pouring off the water when the first crack appears. Brazil nuts OR macadamia nuts cooking papaya See green papaya . Fresh dates are sometimes available at farmer's markets in the late summer.