Plantains, Cooking Bananas That Are Highly Under-Rated.

Plantains are a type of large cooking banana that is traditionally, fried, baked or cooked in some way.

They are never eaten raw like their smaller fruit banana cousins. This is because they are starchier and less sweet than the other types of bananas which, can be and are eaten raw. 

Plantains originated in Africa and are now grown in warm climates that never get below freezing. For this reason, they grow well through out the tropical islands, Central and South America and are considered a staple food there. Due to this fact, they are often referred to as the pasta and potato of the Caribbean and are considered more like a vegetable.

Plantains tend to be larger than fruit bananas. They also have a thicker peel and substantially less moisture content.

They are usually picked when they are green and hard. At this stage, they are not considered ripe and will be harder to peel and will have a very bland taste. As they ripen, they will continue to lose moisture and become spotted with black spots. This process is called hydrolysis and ultimately is a chemical reaction. In the case of plantains, water is lost and its starches are converted to sugar. This creates more of a "banana aroma" and the plantain will turn black and soften. When they reach this stage, they are ready to be cooked and will taste sweeter.

As a general rule any food that contains a lot of starch is not recommended to be regularly consumed as part of a Paleo eating lifestyle. Plantains are still considered to be Paleo- friendly but they really should only be eaten occasionally if a person is counting carbohydrates or is trying to avoid excessive sugar.

Plantains are exceptionally versatile and can be cooked in many ways. They are also, relatively inexpensive.

Let's take a look at the nutritional panels of 3 brands of plantain chips:

Up close from left to right:

This particular company's plantain chip contain 60 grams of carbs per 85 gram serving, which is the entire bag.

(Basically, you can calculate this by adding the grams of carbohydrates listed with the grams of sugar listed and then, subtract the grams of fibre.)

Here's the middle one:

This company lists their serving size as being 40 grams. The entire bag contains 105 grams, so the serving size is less than 1/2 a bag. The total carbohydrates per serving is 28 grams because the grams of sugar listed are cancelled out by the grams of fibre listed. Both are 2 grams respectively.

Here's the panel from the bag on the far right:

This company's serving size is 50 grams. The entire bag contains 150 grams or 3 individual servings. The total grams of carbohydrates per serving is 27 grams. Again the grams of sugar and the grams of fibre, cancel eat other out.

In this 3 bag example, there really are only a few grams of carbohydrates difference from one company to the next, but this can matter a great deal, if you don't take the time to understand what the nutritional panels are telling you and it can make a difference if you are a person who is counting every single gram of carbohydrate in order to make a difference in body weight, weight management or level of health.

Plantain chips make a great snack on their own. Or, whole plantains can be cut and cooked to make a side accompaniment or used as an ingredient or component in another recipe entirely.

Here's what the 3 different companies' plantain chips look like, compared side by side:

Visually, you can see that all 3 look different.

I plan to grind the contents of the smallest bag, on the far left, with the contents of the bag on the far right, to make a crust for a Vegan, Paleo Key Lime and Strawberry Cashew Cheese Cake.

Plantains make a wonderful crust and can be used in both Paleo-friendly desserts and savoury casseroles.

I welcome your comments and invite you to follow me on my journey.

~Rebecca Ryan