Plantains?

Not sure i'm even spelling it correctly. Do they taste like banana's? Do they have to be cooked? I saw a lady on a cooking show today make a lasagne out of them. If they taste like bananas that doesn't sound too appetizing.

When they are ripe they almost taste like bananas because they are sweet, but not as sweet as bananas. Plantains are denser than bananas you have to definitely cook them if they are not ripe.

fabnina,

that's interesting. I wonder why the lady made a lasagne out of it with meat and cheese. gross lol. She said it's a puertorican dish.

Plantains are alot starchier than bananas and not as sweet. They go well with savory flavors, and make a pretty good salty chip that (I think) is even tastier than regular potato chips. It can also be made into sortof a dough and fried. I have had  prepared many ways though, they are very versatile and a staple food in many countries!!

The Wikipedia article is really long and has a much better description than I can offer, haha.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantain

Using ripe plantains for savory dishes is a very common thing in Latin cuisine.. I would even call it the norm so, no, it's not 'gross'.

I actually had some ripe plantains today.. peeled, sliced them on the bias and 'fried' them in a pan until they turn golden/red. I made a traditional meal (from my country) that consists of grilled chicken, chunky salsa (we call it chimol), ripe plantain chips and 'refried' beans. Delicious.

A few different ways to eat ripe plantains:

• Diced and added to ground meat, with some diced potatoes, and carrots. Very good as well.
• Scrambled eggs with beans, and plantain chips.
• As desert: for very ripe plantains, bake in an oiled dish (without skin) turning often. May sprinkle cinnamon sugar once they begin turning golden red and cook until they caramelize. Serve alone or with some kind of savory cream or yogurt.

Green plantains can also fried and seasoned with sea or kosher salt. You can do the same with green (completely unripened) bananas.

And regardless of ripeness, plantains must be cooked.

On a recent vacation to the Dominican Republic (Punta Cana) - they had plantains at every meal... YUM!

They do not taste like bananas at all.  They taste more like potatoes.  Boil some up and make them like you would mashed potatoes and they are absolutely delicious!  I found some at Meijer's after our trip and made them at home.  (Green ones) I enjoyed them very much!

They do turn your hands black when peeling and I had to learn how to peel them.  They do not peel as easy as a banana.  You have to score the skin with a knife and then pull it off in strips.

There are two ways to cook plaintains - savoury (tastes more like potato) and sweet (tastes like banana). I prefer and love the latter.

Plantains don't really taste like bananas... I hate cooked banana, but plantains are yummy! If you use green plantains they're very starchy and supposedly like potato. I don't really like green plantains. But when they ripen they get very sweet and they make wonderful fries... I roasted some plantains last week and one of them wasn't really ripe enough, so it came out dry and tasteless, but the other one was sweet, soft and delicious.

kajikit,

These sound very interesting. I am definately going to have to try them. So I want to wait until the skin is dark black right? That way it's very ripe.

I've had plantains before and they are very tasty.  They are also very high in calories, low in fibre and very low in protein.  Basically they are almost a pure starch.  One cup of mashed plantain, boiled is 230 calories.  Compare that to a potato, something a lot of people would consider a high calorie starchy food, and it has only 140 calories per cup, mashed, also with more fibre and protein. 

So if you are trying to lose weight, unless you boil your plantains and eat only a spoonful or two, forget it...lol...it's almost 50% more calories than a potato!!! 

johnny,

oh lovely.....deep sigh lol. Okay Mr. Johny you are ruining my food party here. tee hee.

Then what is something out of the ordinary that is low fat and has nutritional value. I am trying out new foods. Cactus is out. I have tried that one and like it.

I know pruchutto is fattening as well and that's another I wanted to try.

shirataki noodles are on my list to try.

palenta is on my list; I think that's fattening as well and not conducive to weight loss.

Lindora creamy hot chocolate mix is on my list.

Fage greek yogurt

Arugula

I want to try star fruit but don't think it's in season right now.

I have never made a butternut squash and would like to try that

I have never used peanut oil or sesame oil in cooking and want to try those.

Have any ideas? :)

Kindal, my diet consists of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, fish, some nuts and seeds, very little meat and other whole natural foods that don't fit those categories.  I don't recommmend nor buy any packaged foods.  I would suggest to you, or to anyone, to cut out as much processed and packaged foods as you can, preferably all, and you will soon find that real, whole foods taste great and you will no longer want high salt, high sugar, high chemical, highly processed packaged foods.  You might also find that by doing that, you are much fuller, much longer, eat less, and have plenty of room in your calorie intake for the day to eat a whole cup of plantains...lol. 

There are hundreds of options in natural foods and many I haven't gotten around to yet..whether they are "out of the ordinary" I have no idea...lol..

Johnny,

I have decided the middle of the store is off limits except for oatmeal and things like that.

I remember our dinner consisted of a processed food, a meat, and some semblance of a vegetable if even canned. Sounds so unappetizing now.

I believe that eating whole foods is best. I call them 'clean foods'.

The sodium in that crud is outrageous. I'm going to give my shopping list a once over to see what I have on there as far as processed and clean foods and make adjustments as needed.

Thanks for all your help.

Plantains do not taste like bananas in the least!!!!! They are part of the "banana family," however.

I've never heard of a plantain lasagna but it would not be sweet, that's for sure.

One of my all-time favorite favorite favorite treats are tostones (fried plantains). OMG what an amazing dish. I tried making them once in December and they came out heavenly. The bad part is now I know how to make them and don't have to wait to go to the Cuban place I love to get them. I have resisted making them save for Superbowl Sunday when I did them. I doubt I'll make or have them for awhile, but they are quite the decadent treat if salty things are your downfall...

Fried Plantains?  Not only the added salt, but also the added fat and calories from frying...

actually if you leave the plaintain to go very ripe- as in yellow/brown and soft to the touch rather than firm and green it is indeed sweet- thats how my nigerian family tend to eat it- my grandma fries them in so much oil and then puts a LOT of salt on them- so bad but they used to be my favourite holiday food- i haven't had them in a while!

People, ripe or unripened, there is no need to deep fry them! add a couple of tablespoons to a pan and fry them like that. I just did a batch with 2 tablespoons and measured the left over oil and it was 1 1/2 tablespoons. Only 1/2 tablespoon was absorbed by the plantains and these were also patted 'dry' to remove more of the oil from cooking. You can also spray a pan with Pam or another cooking oil and 'fry' them that way.

Just like any other food, you don't have to cook it like it has always been cooked.

Kindal, I still suggest you try it! Buy only one or two plantains - yellow if you want sweet plantains or green if you want savory ones. Without peeling the plantain, slice off the piece you are going to eat and store the rest. I usually use 1/2 of the plantain when cooking for 2 or 1/3 when making it only for me. I then peel the plantain and slice it really thin before 'frying' as I like them crunchy. You don't have to cook it or eat it all at once. The leftover plantain piece, with the skin ON, will keep for a few days in the fridge (inside a container or bag).

Like ANY food, everything in moderation. I LOVE plantains, I grew up eating them on almost a daily basis and yet, I will only have one every couple of weeks...

ha no i wasn't saying you should deep fry them- its just how my grandma used to do them in nigeria. i actually tend to grill them but i havn't had them in a while.

really, i think anyone trying to eat healthily will realise its perhaps not wise to deep fry anything!!