Plantain

Plantain are a large starchy cooking banana.

Plantain

About Plantain

The plantain, scientifically named Musa paradisiaca, is a very starchy banana that is usually used in cooking.  However, they can also be eaten raw when they are very ripe with the skin turning almost completely black.  (See Ripe Plantain.)  It is usually not considered an eating banana like the ones we are used to peeling and eating, though we have eaten them that way after peeling them with a knife.  We first became acquainted with the plantain in the late 1960’s when we visited Jamaica.  Until about 1990, we rarely saw them being sold in supermarkets, but today they are common in the tropical fruit and vegetable section.  They are usually sold green, but occasionally we find ripe ones.  If the plantains are green, let them ripen on the kitchen counter until they turn yellow, as in the picture above.  Plantains do not peel like eating bananas.  We have found that the easiest way to peel a plantain is to cut off the two ends with a knife, slit the skin lengthwise, and then peel it.  (If you do not need the plantain whole, cutting it in half also makes it easier to peel.)  The above left insert photo is of a whole peeled plantain.  Try our plantain recipes for baked plantain, baked plantain with tofu and brown rice, and others.  See nutritional information below.

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Plantains, cooked

NDB No: 09278

USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14 (July 2001)

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