look like very large bananas. They should always be eaten cooked. Unripe plantains are green and very firm. As they ripen they turn a yellow orange color, much more orange than a regular banana. Then they turn black and become very soft, even mushy. They can be cooked in any stage of ripeness, including complete black. The darker the skin color, the sweeter the taste. The most common cooking methods are either cutting into two inch pieces and boiling with the skin on, or peeling and cutting into very small pieces and frying. Frying a green plantain yields crunchy pieces and ripe pieces yield very sweet soft pieces.
Green Bananas. Can only be eaten cooked, either fried or boiled. A popular roadside snack in India is Fried plantain crisps.
starchy bananas, that must be cooked to be eaten, a common side dish in Latin America.
Also known as machos. The plantain is a green skinned, pink fleshed banana which is usually flatter and longer than a regular banana. It also contains more starch and less sugar. It is usually eaten fried, mashed, or in stews in South American, African, and West Indian cuisine. Back to the top