Topic: Plantains

[Ghandi]

I bought a variety of different bananas at the store today - I got red bananas, bananitos and plantains. The first two are edible immediately after you peel them (and delicious) but plantains need to be cooked. I've read a few recipes online but was wondering if anyone has any experience in cooking them. I've never cooked them before and I have to wait a few days for them to ripen. The anticipation is killing me (or, at least, making me hungry).

[sirean_syan]

I was totally curious once and bought a plantain to eat raw... it was like eating a random plant that sucked all the moisture out of your mouth with a hint of banana flavoring. It sorta sucked, but I felt better for the experience.

[Quemaqua]

Haha, I tried one raw once too... like Sy said, they literally just suck the moisture from your mouth.  It's bizarre.  No idea how to cook them, though.  I had them fried once, but I didn't cook them myself.

[Ghandi]

You're not supposed to eat them raw. They are supposedly pretty bad that way.

But the bananas that we are accustomed to at the store are supposedly some of the worst tasting of all banana varieties. The reason that we ended up with the cavendish - the banana that we are accustomed to - is quite interesting. I highly recommend that you read this short piece on bananas, it's quite interesting. Apparently the cavendish will succumb to disease within the next 10 to 20 years, leaving us to find a different variety of banana.

[JacksRag(e)]

Plantains are good fried.  You can deep fry them raw or use a sweet batter.  They're really really good either way.  There's no real secret to cooking them, just play around with them.  It'll be fun and delicious.
And you can eat them raw but only when they're very ripe, so when they turn a good healthy yellow colour.

[sirean_syan]

I did a little reading on the subject a few months ago when I heard a piece about it on the radio. Since then I've been curious as to how good the "old" bananas really were.... Cobra?

[Ghandi]

Plantains are good fried.  You can deep fry them raw or use a sweet batter.  They're really really good either way.  There's no real secret to cooking them, just play around with them.  It'll be fun and delicious.
And you can eat them raw but only when they're very ripe, so when they turn a good healthy yellow colour.

But how ripe should they be when I fry them? I've read varying reports from green to brown. I've also read varying reports on how long to cook them, but that's something that I should be able to figure out pretty easily on my own.

I did a little reading on the subject a few months ago when I heard a piece about it on the radio. Since then I've been curious as to how good the "old" bananas really were.... Cobra?

Many of the older varieties died out long before Cobra was born.

[WindAndConfusion]

I did a little reading on the subject a few months ago when I heard a piece about it on the radio. Since then I've been curious as to how good the "old" bananas really were.... Cobra?

Many of the older varieties died out long before Cobra was born.

I think Sy's referring to the Gros Michel banana, which was the archetypal banana prior to the 1950's. Unfortunately, the entire variety was lost to Panama disease, and was replaced by the modern cavendish variety.

But yeah, that was a long time ago. Cobra belongs to the mesozoic at least, but I don't think even he is that old.

[JacksRag(e)]

Well, they're pretty much like regular bananas.  When they've gone all yellow is a good time.  The riper they are, the sweeter they'll be so feel free to experiment and try some out a little earlier than others.  People like different tastes.  
Green plantains can be treated something like vegetables.  Fry 'em, mash 'em, sautee 'em or add them to random dishes.  
If you want to try green plantains, maybe you can make tostones?  Soak the plantains a bit and fry 'em up till they're a little soft, then smash them a little and refry till crispy.  And then you can season them with some salt, or garlic salt or what have you.
Riper plantains can be fried up as a dessert.  With some yogurt or pudding, they can be very good.

[Cobra951]

I've eaten plenty of plantains in several different ways.   My favorite is tostones.  The plantains are cut in diagonal chunks then mashed and fried.  Eat with salt.  Don't know how to make them or what goes into the process.  All I know is the result is yummy.  Then there are platanutres, or plantain chips.  They're like corn chips, only better.

Love the internet.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Puerto-Rican-Tostones-Fried-Plantains/Detail.aspx
http://www.recipezaar.com/138707

Edit:  Oh, and amarillos are sweet.  Need ripe instead of green plantains for that.

[scottws]

Plaintains are very Cuban.  They call them "platanos.". I'm sure Jennie has at least a couple recipes, her being of Cuban descent and all.

I don't like them in general, but if you fry them just right, they are really good, especially with a nice hananero sauce.

[Raisa]

i have some really nice recipes for those.. what do u want, sweet, savory, main dish?

one of the best ways is to cut in half, roll up in sugar, wrap in springroll wrappers then fry on medium heat - slow cook so the banana cooks well.

Another favorite of mine is to cook it with raw sugar on very very low heat for a long time, then add butter and vanilla.  you can use honey instead of sugar.

You can use that for curries, side dishes, main dishes (with tomato sauce or adobo).. etc

[Cobra951]

Plaintains are very Cuban.  They call them "platanos.". I'm sure Jennie has at least a couple recipes, her being of Cuban descent and all.

I don't like them in general, but if you fry them just right, they are really good, especially with a nice hananero sauce.

HEY!  They stole them from us! 

Jenny is of Cuban descent?

[scottws]

HEY!  They stole them from us! 

Jenny is of Cuban descent?

I should probably have said that they were common in the Carribean.

But yes, yes she is.  She's a nationalized citizen, but her mom lived her childhood in Cuba.  Her grandfather lives here as well and doesn't speak a lick of English.

[Cobra951]

You've spoken a bit about her before, so I feel like I must have missed something.  Aside from Haiti and Jamaica, the greater antilles share a fairly common culture and heritage, food included.  I wish I could cook it up myself.  Mmmmm.