May 01, 2009
Growing up in a Puerto Rican household I became very familiar with the plantain and I LOVE THEM! You can eat them like 20 different ways, fried, boiled, baked, covered ...
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Musa acuminata, the plantain () is a crop in the genus ''Musa'' and is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana (which is sometimes called the dessert banana). The population of North America was first introduced to the ''banana plantain'', and in the United States and Europe "banana" generally refers to that variety. The word "banana" is often used (some would say incorrectly, although there is no formal botanical distinction between bananas and plantains) to describe other plantain varieties, and names may reflect local uses or characteristics of varieties: ''cooking plantain'', ''banana plantain'', ''beer banana'', ''bocadillo plantain'' (the little one), etc. All members of the genus ''Musa'' are indigenous to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania, including the (redundant term) Malay Archipelago (modern Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines) and northern Australia. Plantains tend to be firmer and lower in sugar content than dessert bananas. Bananas are most often eaten raw, while plantains usually require cooking or other processing, and are used either when green or under-ripe (and therefore starchy) or overripe (and therefore sweet). Plantains are a staple food in the tropical regions of the world, treated in much the same way as potatoes and with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling or frying. Regions with Plantain crops include the Southern United States, Hawaii, the Caribbean, Central America, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Southern Brazil, the Canary Islands, the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, Madeira, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Okinawa, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Pacific Islands, and northern Australia. Farmers grow plantains as far north as Northern California and as far south as KwaZulu-Natal. Plantains are in the genus ''Musa'', and are mostly sterile triploid hybrids between the species ''Musa acuminata'' (A genome), and ''Musa balbisiana'' (B genome). ''Musa'' species are likely native to India and Southern Asia. It is assumed that the Portuguese Franciscan friars were responsible for the introduction of plantains from Africa to the Caribbean islands and other parts of the Americas.
A sweet banana-like crop that is better eaten cooked. Sometimes called the "cooking banana," plantains can be fried, boiled, baked or steamed and used to make both savory and sweet dishes.
Plantains serve different culinary purposes in during their stages of ripeness. Green plantains are hard and often used as a thickener in stews. Just-ripe (yellow with black spots) are often flattened and fried as chips (tostones), and very-ripe (black ot yellow-black) are sauteed or fried. Storing plantains in the refrigerator will slow the ripening process.
When they're green and unripe the fruit is very firm and starchy, but when they ripen the sugars develop and the plantains become softer and sweeter.
Fried plantains are popular in Cuban restaurants, where they are served with such delights as Lechon Asado (garlic-spiked roast pork) and “Moros y Cristianos” (black beans cooked with white rice).
The starchy green bananas are cut into 1 inch sections, peeled, fried, smashed down, and then refried until crispy. These are called ‘Tostones’ and are usually sprinkled with salt and sometimes a spritz of lime juice.
‘Maduros’ are made from ripe yellow/brown plantains, often cut into chunks on the bias, then fried in a mixture of olive oil and butter until dark, soft, and sweet.