Agree. Between picking things very not ripe and artificially ripening them and the monocultured hybrids, things are not what they were. I have thought about trying some of the non-Cavendish varieties, but they are expensive, here. Meanwhile, I do the freezer thing. I think it does something suboptimal with the organic chemistry of the oils and therefore overemphasizes some flavor aspects I'd prefer not, but it helps with the less moisture aspect of starchy banana.

Notwithstanding, your experiments sound really tasty!