Cooking banana

Main article: Banana

Cooking bananas are a special kind of banana used for cooking. Unlike the bananas we usually eat, they are not sweet. They are starchy and need to be cooked before eating. Many people call them plantains or green bananas.

These bananas are important in many parts of the world, like West and Central Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central America, and northern South America. They grow in tropical areas and can fruit all year, making them a reliable food source.

When cooked, cooking bananas become soft and have a gentle flavor. People often fry, boil, or turn them into flour or dough to make meals. Cooking them brings out the best taste and texture.

Description

Plantains are a type of banana that have more starch and less sugar than regular bananas. Because of this, they are usually cooked before eating. When they are green, plantains are often boiled or fried. They can also be made into flour for baking things like cakes and bread.

When plantains turn yellow, they become softer and can sometimes be eaten without cooking, but they are often still cooked to make them taste better. Yellow plantains can be fried, boiled, baked, or grilled. They are a common food in tropical areas and are important for many people’s meals, especially in places where it’s hard to keep food fresh for a long time.

Taxonomy

Main article: Banana § Taxonomy

See also: List of banana cultivars

Carl Linnaeus sorted bananas into two groups: ones we cook and ones we eat sweet. Both groups are mixes of two main banana kinds, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The name Musa × paradisiaca is used for these mixes. Most cooking bananas cannot make seeds and are in a group called the AAB Group. Other important cooking bananas are the East African Highland bananas and Pacific plantains.

Dishes

Main article: List of banana dishes

Fried

Pisang goreng ("fried banana" in Indonesian and Malay) is a snack made from plantains deep-fried in coconut oil. It can be coated in batter flour or fried without batter. It is a popular snack in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

Ethakka appam, pazham (banana) boli or pazham pori are names for fried plantain in Kerala, India. The plantain is dipped in a sweetened rice and white flour batter and then fried in coconut or vegetable oil, similar to pisang goreng. It is also known as bajji in Southern India, where it is served as a savory fast food.

Aritikaya kura, or vepudu are terms for a fried plantain dish in Andhra Pradesh, India. Plantain is known as Raw Banana or Aritikaya in this part of southern India. It is usually served with rice and sometimes with plain curd or yogurt. It is a favorite dish for weddings and other occasions.

In the Philippines, fried bananas are served with arroz a la cubana.

Plantains are used in the Ivory Coast dish aloco as the main ingredient. Fried plantains are covered in an onion-tomato sauce, often with a grilled fish between the plantains and sauce.

Boli or bole is the term for roasted plantain in Nigeria. The plantain is grilled and served with roasted fish, ground peanuts and a hot palm oil sauce. It is a dish from the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria. It is popular among the working class as an inexpensive midday meal.

Plantain is popular in West and Central Africa, especially Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bénin, Ghana and Nigeria; when ripe plantain is fried, it is generally called dodo. The ripe plantain is sliced diagonally and then fried in oil. Fried plantain can be eaten as such, or served with stew or sauce.

In Ghana, the dish is called kelewele and can be found as a snack sold by street vendors. Kelewele is often flavored with nutmeg, chili powder, ginger and salt.

In the Western hemisphere, tostones are twice-fried plantain fritters, often served as a side dish, appetizer or snack. Plantains are sliced and fried in oil. The segments are then smashed down and fried again and then seasoned, often with salt. In some countries, such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the tostones are dipped in Creole sauce. In Haiti, bannann peze is commonly served with pikliz, a slaw-like condiment. In Nicaragua, tostones are typically served with fried cheese.

In western Venezuela, much of Colombia and the Peruvian Amazon, patacones are a variation of tostones. Plantains are sliced in long pieces and fried in oil, then used to make sandwiches with pork, beef, chicken, vegetables and ketchup.

Chifles is the Spanish term used in Peru and Ecuador for fried green plantains sliced thin; it is also used to describe plantain chips which are sliced thinner. In Nicaragua, they are called "tajadas" and are sliced thinly the long way. They are commonly served alongside many dishes, including fritanga, and sold in bags by themselves.

In Honduras, Venezuela and Central Colombia, fried ripened plantain slices are known as tajadas. They are customary in most typical meals. Some variations include adding honey or sugar and frying the slices in butter. The same slices are known as amarillos and fritos maduros in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic respectively. In Panama, tajadas are eaten daily together with rice, meat and beans. In Nicaragua, tajadas are fried unripened plantain slices, and are traditionally served at a fritanga, with fried pork or carne asada, or on their own on green banana leaves, either with a cabbage salad or fresh or fried cheese. In El Salvador, plátanos fritos are ripe plantain slices that are pan-fried and generally served as part of a traditional Salvadoran breakfast.

On Colombia's Caribbean coast, tajadas of fried green plantain are consumed along with grilled meats.

After removing the skin, maduro can be sliced and pan-fried in oil until golden brown. In the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras and Venezuela, they are also eaten baked in the oven. In Puerto Rico baked plátanos maduros are usually eaten for breakfast and served with eggs, chorizo or bacon.

Tacacho is a roasted plantain dish from Peru. It is usually served con cecina, with bits of pork.

In Venezuela, a yo-yo is a traditional dish made of two slices of fried ripened plantain placed on top of each other, with local soft white cheese in the middle, and held together with toothpicks. The arrangement is dipped in beaten eggs and fried again until the cheese melts. They are served as sides or entrees.

In Puerto Rico fried plantains are served in a variety of ways as side dishes, fast foods, and main course. An alternative to tostones are arañitas. The name comes from the grated green and yellow plantain pieces forming little legs that stick out of the fritter itself. Alcapurrias are a traditional snack with masa dough made from grated green banana, yautía, seasoned with lard, annatto and stuffed with picadillo. Mofongo is a beloved dish on the island made from fried plantains mashed with garlic, fat, chicharrón or bacon, and broth. Puerto Rican piononos are sweet and savory treats made with a combination of fried yellow plantains, cheese, picadillo, and beaten eggs.

Boiled

Eto is a Ghanaian traditional dish made from boiled and mashed yam or plantain and typically savored with boiled eggs, groundnut (peanuts) and sliced avocado. For the plantain option called 'Boodie eto', the plantain can be used unripe, slightly ripe or fully ripe.

A traditional mangú from the Dominican Republic consists of peeled and boiled green plantains, mashed with hot water. It is traditionally eaten at breakfast, topped with sautéed red onions and accompanied by fried eggs, fried cheese or fried bologna sausage.

Plantain porridge is also a common dish throughout the Caribbean, in which cooking bananas are boiled with milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg to form a thick porridge typically served at breakfast.

In Uganda, cooking bananas are referred to as matooke or matoke, which is also the name of a cooking banana stew that is widely prepared in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and eastern Congo. The cooking bananas are peeled, wrapped in the plant's leaves and set in a cooking pot on the stalks that have been removed from the leaves. The pot is then placed on a charcoal fire and the matoke is steamed for a few hours. The matoke is then mashed while still wrapped in the leaves and is served with a sauce made of vegetables, ground peanuts, or some type of meat such as goat or beef.

Cayeye, also called Mote de Guineo, is a traditional Colombian dish from the Caribbean Coast of the country. Cayeye is made by cooking small green bananas or plantains in water, then mashing and mixing them with refrito, made with onions, garlic, red bell pepper, tomato and achiote. Cayeye are usually served for breakfast with fresh grated Colombian cheese and fried fish, shrimp, crab, or beef.

Funche criollo, a dish served for breakfast or dinner, varies on ingredients. Breakfast funche is made with coconut milk, butter, milk, sugar, cornmeal, sweet plantains, and topped with cinnamon, honey, nuts and fruit. The dinner version typically includes green or yellow plantains boiled in broth, butter, sofrito and mashed with taro, cornmeal, or yams. This is a typical dish from Puerto Rico and can be traced back to the Tainos and African slave trade.

As a dough

In Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, mofongo is made by mashing fried plantains in a mortar with chicharrón or bacon, garlic, olive oil and stock. The resulting mixture is formed into cylinders and eaten warm, usually with chicken broth. Grated green bananas and yautias are also used to form masa, a common ingredient for dishes such as alcapurria, which is a type of savory fritter.

Fufu de platano is a traditional and very popular lunch dish in Cuba, and essentially akin to the Puerto Rican mofongo. It is a fufu made by boiling the plantains in water and mashing with a fork. The fufu is then mixed with chicken stock and sofrito, a sauce made from lard, garlic, onions, pepper, tomato sauce, a touch of vinegar and cumin. Fufu is also a common traditional dish made in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and other West & Central African countries.

Other dishes

While cooking bananas are starchier and often used in savory dishes as a result, many Philippine desserts also use cooking bananas as a primary ingredient, such as:

• Banana cue - fried ripe saba bananas coated with caramelized sugar.
• Binignit - a dessert soup of glutinous rice in coconut milk with ripe saba bananas as one of the main ingredients.
• Ginanggang - grilled saba bananas coated with margarine and sugar.
• Maruya - banana fritters made from saba bananas and batter.
• Minatamis na saging - saba bananas simmered in a sweet syrup.
• Pritong saging - fried ripe saba bananas.
• Pinasugbo - thinly sliced bananas coated with caramelized sugar and sesame seeds and fried until crunchy.
• Saba con hielo - a shaved ice dessert which primarily uses minatamis na saging and milk.
• Turon - a type of dessert lumpia made from ripe saba bananas wrapped in thin crepe and fried.

In Ecuador, plantain is boiled, crushed, scrambled, and fried into majado. This dish is typically served with a cup of coffee and bistek, fish, or grated cheese. It is a popular breakfast dish. Majado is also used as a base to prepare tigrillo and bolones.

Other preparations

Chips

Main articles: Banana chip and Chifle

Unripe cooking bananas can be sliced thinly and fried in hot oil to make chips. These chips have different names in different places. In some Central American and South American countries, they are called tostones, patacones, or plataninas. In Puerto Rico, they are called platanutres, and in Cuba, Ecuador, and Peru, they are called chifles. In Colombia, they are called platanitos and are often eaten with a special drink.

In Africa, the Yorubas make plantain chips called ipekere from different stages of ripeness, frying them in various ways. In South India, chips made from green plantains fried in coconut oil and sprinkled with salt are called upperi or kaya varuthathu and are part of special feasts.

Dried flour

In South-west Nigeria, unripe plantains are dried and ground into flour called Elubo Ogede. In southern India, dried plantain powder mixed with a little fennel seed powder is boiled in milk or water to make baby food.

Drink

In Peru, plantains are boiled and blended with water, spices, and sugar to make a drink called chapo. In Kerala, ripe plantains are boiled with sago, coconut milk, sugar, and spices to make a pudding.

Ketchup

In the Philippines, a special type of banana called saba bananas is used to make banana ketchup. This was created during World War II as a replacement for tomato ketchup.

Nutrition

Plantains are mostly made of carbohydrates. They also have some dietary fiber, sugars, protein, and fat. They are about 65% water. Eating 100 grams of plantain gives you energy.

Plantains are a good source of vitamin B6 and vitamin C. They also have magnesium and potassium. They do not have much beta-carotene, so they are not a good source of vitamin A.

Allergies

Some people can be allergic to plantains and bananas. If this happens, they might feel itching, swelling, or a skin rash. In rare cases, it can be very serious. Scientists have found proteins in bananas that can cause these reactions.