Bananas and Plantains/Cooking Bananas

[Mountain Cat]

As for cooking bananas or plantains... I think years ago i made banana bread. Once. It was fine, but I'm not heavily into bread.

I've eaten bananas plain, and I have cut them into oatmeal or plain yogurt, but that's about it. I've had plantains out, but those were always prepared too sweet for my liking. So I haven't used them at home. Just something it never occurs that I pick up to try at home.

 

[caseydog]

As for cooking bananas or plantains... I think years ago i made banana bread. Once. It was fine, but I'm not heavily into bread.

I've eaten bananas plain, and I have cut them into oatmeal or plain yogurt, but that's about it. I've had plantains out, but those were always prepared too sweet for my liking. So I haven't used them at home. Just something it never occurs that I pick up to try at home.

Fried plantains (tostonies) are not overly sweet. There is just a hint of sweetness.

CD

 

[Hemulen]

As for cooking bananas or plantains... I think years ago i made banana bread. Once. It was fine, but I'm not heavily into bread.

I've eaten bananas plain, and I have cut them into oatmeal or plain yogurt, but that's about it. I've had plantains out, but those were always prepared too sweet for my liking. So I haven't used them at home. Just something it never occurs that I pick up to try at home.

Actually the topic refers to the other common term for Plantains which is cooking bananas. I should have used a slash instead of brackets. But all the better if discussing cooked bananas as most of us have eaten bananas plain or with ice cream or breakfast cereal.

 

[Morning Glory]

Actually the topic refers to the other common term for Plantains which is cooking bananas. I should have used a slash instead of brackets. But all the better if discussing cooked bananas as most of us have eaten bananas plain or with ice cream or breakfast cereal.

View attachment 49982

I'll edit the title of the thread accordingly.

 

[caseydog]

Actually the topic refers to the other common term for Plantains which is cooking bananas. I should have used a slash instead of brackets. But all the better if discussing cooked bananas as most of us have eaten bananas plain or with ice cream or breakfast cereal.

View attachment 49982

"Cooking bananas" is a term I don't recall ever hearing here. In the stores that have both, there are bananas, and there are plantains.

West African food and Caribbean food have a lot in common. I'm not surprised to see that plantains are common in West African foods.

CD

 

[Burt Blank]

There are some boss recipes for Raw/Green/Cooking bananas." Green bananas are full of fibre with are good for people with digestive and bowel problems. It is especially beneficial for people with IBS and constipation. ... In India however, bananas are also cherished in their raw form. Green banana or kaccha kela is part of many savoury Indian preparations. "

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc_5Tzp2tJE&ab_channel=SubbusKitchen

 

[Morning Glory]

There are some boss recipes for Raw/Green/Cooking bananas." Green bananas are full of fibre with are good for people with digestive and bowel problems. It is especially beneficial for people with IBS and constipation. ... In India however, bananas are also cherished in their raw form. Green banana or kaccha kela is part of many savoury Indian preparations. "View attachment 50001

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc_5Tzp2tJE&ab_channel=SubbusKitchen

Its also easier to get green bananas in the UK. Plantains aren't generally available from supermarkets and are not often seen in markets (although that depends on where you live). I used green bananas in the recipe a mentioned above

 

[Duck59]

I worked in Ghana some years ago and as a vegetarian, I had to be a bit inventive at times. Plaintains were everywhere and I started treating them like potatoes - you can cook plaintain pretty much any way you like. They make for pretty decent chips (in the UK sense of that word), although you can make crisps out of them as well. Indeed, I've seen packs sold in Britain.

Something I wouldn't recommend, unless you're a bird called a plantain-eater, is swallowing the things whole. These birds, which we saw quite a bit, are large and rather noisy. They're part of the turaco family and only seen in Africa.

 

[Herbie]

I'd forgotten about plantain crisps. Could easily get them in London. A new Afro-Caribbean shop has opened in town so I'll take a look next time I'm up there (when ever it is I'm back at work).

 

[caseydog]

I worked in Ghana some years ago and as a vegetarian, I had to be a bit inventive at times. Plaintains were everywhere and I started treating them like potatoes - you can cook plaintain pretty much any way you like. They make for pretty decent chips (in the UK sense of that word), although you can make crisps out of them as well. Indeed, I've seen packs sold in Britain.

Something I wouldn't recommend, unless you're a bird called a plantain-eater, is swallowing the things whole. These birds, which we saw quite a bit, are large and rather noisy. They're part of the turaco family and only seen in Africa.

I can easily see plantains being a good substitute for potatoes, in a pinch.

CD

 

[JAS_OH1]

When I was in my early 20s I had a boyfriend who worked as a sous chef in a fine dining restaurant. He made me an awesome grouper dish one night and served mashed plantains/potatoes as a side dish. It was the first time I had ever eaten them. The combination was absolutely delicious.

One of my brothers is married to a Puerto Rican gal. She makes me fried plantains with eggs and toast when I visit them. YUMMMM.

As far as the regular bananas go, I too prefer them green and can't stand them to be overripe. If they get overripe I will make banana bread, though my version uses cream cheese and is so sweet and moist it's really more like a cake. I will also add some pureed pineapple occasionally to the bread, which makes it super awesome!