OK, I know they MUST be cooked, everybody says so, but WHY ? I ´m currently here in COsta Rica and I ate one ( very ripe , yelllow) and I didn´t have any problems....tasted pretty much like a regular sweet banana, just not as sweet , maybe. Other than that, not much of a difference, really.
Sure , I usually eat them fried ( as patacones or platanos) with a casado. But I don´t really understand why they should never be eaten uncooked. DO you know why ?

KoolEaze said

I'm not entirely sure about the ripe ones, but green plantains are far too starchy to eat uncooked.


I would think that it would be ok to eat very ripe plantains uncooked 'cause they are softer and sweeter

jess555ja said:

very much like raw potato

Mach said:

Exactly!

OK...

When plantains are green (unripe), you can fry them.- "tostones"

first peel and cut them into slices (about 1 1/2" thick) and place slices in a bowl of salted water (to remove excess starch)

Get a frying pan of oil (preferably canola, but veg. or corn will do)

fry til tender on both sides.

then remove from oil, smash* them and salt them with garlic salt and place back in

frying pan until crisp on edges and golden.

serve like fries with ketchup and/or hot sauce.

* being careful not to burn yourself, you can use cutting board, paperbag(to soak up oil) and rolling pin to "crush" plantains.
layer paperbag under and over plantain slice then squish
(or you can buy a plantain press)

Sweet plantains, can be fried as well, just slice, soak in salted water and fry until golden brown.

jess555ja said:

Yes, the green ones taste like raw potato when you eat them raw ( which I wouldn´t recommend ) but I mean those small, fat , yellow ones....they are not that bad when you eat them raw. Sometimes I prefer them over regular bananas because they taste JUST LIKE regular bananas, just not as sweet. Sometimes I like that fresh, less sweet banana taste.
YOu know what, I ´ll go to the kitchen and fry some platanos RIGHT NOW.

paintedlady said:

I love tostones. I made some last week. But they were store bought so all I had to do was fry them in canola oil.

My family likes to eat plantains boiled.

sextonseven said:

Awwwww yeah! With some onion and garlic and butter



This is my favorite thread ever

paintedlady said:

I love tostones. I made some last week. But they were store bought so all I had to do was fry them in canola oil.

My family likes to eat plantains boiled.

sextonseven said:

Awwwww yeah! With some onion and garlic and butter

jess555ja said:

They don't even do that! After they boil it, they just peel off the skin and eat it just like that.

I prefer fried.

sextonseven said:

No salt either?!



I've never had them like that

sextonseven said:

No salt either?!



I've never had them like that

OMG, thread of the year




I'm Dominican so you know I love me some plantains


Platanos al caldero (caramelized ripe plantains)

Ingredients:
2 Very ripe plantains
4 tablespoons of butter
4 Cinnamon sticks
2 tablespoons of cloves
1/4 cup of sugar
3 Tablespoons of rum (optional)
1/2 cup of water
a pinch of salt


Peel the plantains and cut them into halves. Stick the cloves and cinnamon sticks into the plantains. In a shallow frying pan, heat the butter and saute the plantains until they're golden brown. In a separate container, mix the remaining ingredients. Pour into the frying pan. Let the water evaporate. Let them caramelize on one side and then turn them over. Once both sides are caramelized, remove from the heat and serve immediately

jess555ja said:

My mom eats them like that, but she does add a little salt.

I prefer my boiled plantains in pastelles!

That and sancocho stew.... that's plantain cooking for the advanced.

Oh, BTW chlli, if the only have the green ones in the market, buy them anyways, the ripen nicely in a paperbag or on the counter, but it might take days.

The sweeter the plantain, the stronger the aroma, and look for a dark yellow flesh that has lots of black spots and black tips.

from what I read - "not suitable for eating raw unless very ripe, when they turn completely black."

Jackson is too bad of a mutha to be messing with in a thread on the Org. I'm glad Jackson has a good sense of humor.Fortunately, we don't have to worry about him slapping somebody for making look foolish in a thread.

I have a saltfish recipe that calls for boiled platains (ripe) ..... but we'll save that when Chilli becomes a hardcore plantain eater.

Boiled plantains are an acquired taste. my family eats them boiled fried and baked.

paintedlady said:

I can only do the boiled ones WITH cod/saltfish. It's a delicacy in Panama. Hmmmm Hmmmm, good! BTW, I had lunch at Caribbean Grill cuz of ya'll on this thread. I had rice and peas, curry chicken, stewed chicken, beef patties, and a BIG OL' SIDE OF PLANTAINS!!!!

Ocean said:

They belong to the bananna family but they really are different. They're a common element in Latin and Carribean cooking and (to my knowledge) are only correctly known as a plaintain, or in Spanish "platanos"...They are also common in African cooking, but often served spicy with a compliment of cayenne pepper (I can only buy them in Europe at African grocery stores or eat them as a side dish in African restaurants here). They aren't sweet & have a harder and starchier consistency than a bananna, more like a potato. I equate them more with yuca. You can manipulate them during cooking to make them sweeter though, but the texture will still probably remind you more of a potato. Boy are they tasty, though! If you have a chance to test out latin or Carribean cuisine make sure you grab a side of these, they're yummy as all hell

Oh BTW, you very welcome Chilli , hope ya have fun cooking them as well as eating them.

And sorry Ocean for not answering your question, by the time I got back to the thread, some of the guys beat me to it

OK...

When plantains are green (unripe), you can fry them.- "tostones"

first peel and cut them into slices (about 1 1/2" thick) and place slices in a bowl of salted water (to remove excess starch)

Get a frying pan of oil (preferably canola, but veg. or corn will do)

fry til tender on both sides.

then remove from oil, smash* them and salt them with garlic salt and place back in

frying pan until crisp on edges and golden.

serve like fries with ketchup and/or hot sauce.

* being careful not to burn yourself, you can use cutting board, paperbag(to soak up oil) and rolling pin to "crush" plantains.
layer paperbag under and over plantain slice then squish
(or you can buy a plantain press)

Sweet plantains, can be fried as well, just slice, soak in salted water and fry until golden brown.

paintedlady said:

yeah.. i only like the yellow ones.. green ones you have to work with..

paintedlady said:

That's ok
I wanna try them now.....

MsLegs said:

"Scuse me cheeky woman, but I DID NOT make that, ure beef should be with photobucket
Besides, u dont think SNakes On A Plane was foolish enough?

[Edited 3/13/08 22:41pm]