Short, square, and fat, Cardaba bananas are known in Barbados and much of the Eastern Caribbean as buffit. In Guyana, they are called square plantains, 4-corner plantain and tuk tuk. The Cardaba is grown primarily as a cooking banana. I first came across buffit about a decade ago and buy it regularly whenever I see it available in the market here in Barbados, which was as recent as last week Saturday.
I’ve been wanting to share with you for a long time now, my experience cooking and eating buffit but could not find anyone who was familiar with it. And I did not want to write to encourage you to try something that you do not have access to. A Guyanese friend over here told me that he had only heard of buffit being called 4-corner plantain. But this week, 2 friends on Facebook, who are prolific cooks, and big promoters of Guyanese ingredients and food, told me excitedly about their love of buffit. One of them actually harvested a bunch of it this week from his yard! As we chatted about the ways in which we cook and enjoy buffit, one thing that was clear is that is it not often seen in the markets in Guyana. It is not widely grown because people do not have an appetite for it, preferring regular plantains.