The plantain, called platoon macho in Mexico, had a long and colorful history before arriving on the country’s tropical shores, where it is now abundant.
What countries have plantains?
Plantains are believed to have originated in Southeast Asia. Two groups of plantains are thought to have a common origin: the horn plantain and the French plantain. Both types grow in India, Africa, Egypt, and tropical America. The French plantains also occur in Indonesia and the islands of the Pacific.
What countries eat plantain?
CENTRAL AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
In countries in Central America and the Caribbean, such as Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Puerto Rico, Haiti and Jamaica, the plantain is either simply fried, boiled or made into plantain soup.
Are plantains a Hispanic food?
Plantains are a staple food in the Caribbean, playing a major role in Dominican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican food, and also shows up in Dishes from southern Mexico and other areas of Central America . Plantains may look like bananas but they are starchier and have a different, more neutral flavor.
Where can plantains be found?
Plantain, known as Plantago major, grows all over North America and around the world. It is commonly found in yards and gardens where pesticides aren’t used. Chances are, if you’re a Climate Victory Gardener, you’ve come across this plant.
Do Mexicans eat plantain?
Fried plantains—a traditional sweet in Mexico—are served as a dessert drizzled with crema, ice cream or chocolate sauce in restaurants, and as a popular street snack liberally doused with sweetened condensed milk.
Which country eats the most plantains?
The countries with the highest volumes of plantain consumption in 2019 were the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5.7M tonnes), Cameroon (5.2M tonnes), and Ghana (4.2M tonnes), together comprising 36% of global consumption.
Where is plantain originally from?
Southeast Asia
Like bananas, plantains are originally from Southeast Asia. However, they are now grown all over the world, including in India, Egypt, Indonesia, and tropical regions of the Americas. Plantains are usually larger and tougher than bananas, with much thicker skin.
What culture cooks with plantains?
Plantain is cooked wherever plantains grow, from West Africa to East Africa as well as Central and South America and the Caribbean countries like Haiti to Cuba and in many parts of Southeast Asia, where fried snacks are widely popular. In Indonesia it is called gorengan.
What do plantains taste like?
Ripe plantains are sweet like a banana, without the banana flavor. They can be eaten raw but are best when fried. The edges caramelize and become crispy like the edges of pancakes cooked in butter.
Do they have tostones in Mexico?
In Mexico, plátanos fritos can be served with sweet or savory garnishes (both equally delicious options). Another savory version, tostones, is a staple throughout Latin America. This dish is made by double-frying flattened green-skinned plantains.
Are bananas grown in Mexico?
Mexico’s prime banana-growing regions are in the southern part of the country. In the state of Oaxaca, the town of Pluma Hidalgo is well known for its coffee and banana production. Species cultivated include morado, tabasco (also called roatan), piña, guineo (also called ‘costa rica’), manzano, and peron.
Who brought plantains to the Americas?
Through trade, slavery, and colonization, the plantains found new homes in the Western Hemisphere. History tells us that plantains are indigenous to equator-bordering lands in Southeast Asia. Spanish and African slave traders brought the fruit with them to the Caribbean on slave ships.
What do you call plantains in Spanish?
PLANTAINS. Spanish word for “plantain”. Commonly referred to as “cooking banana” or plátano in Spanish, plantain can easily be mistaken for a banana but are larger than a banana and must be cooked before eaten.
Can you eat plantains like a banana?
Plantain is a lot starchier than a banana and it can’t be eaten raw like a banana. Also, it is larger than a banana and with a thicker skin. Because of the high starch content in plantain, it is best eaten cooked.
Is a banana a plantain?
A plantain is actually a type of banana, but with a different flavor and culinary use. Like bananas they are originally from Southeast Asia, but they’re grown all over the world today. They tend to be larger in size than bananas, and have a thicker skin. Plantains are also starchier and lower in sugar than bananas.
What do they call plantains in Mexico?
Mexican Kitchen. Although grown most frequently in the tropical coastal areas of the country, plantains are found in markets all over Mexico, where they are called plátano macho and look like bananas on growth hormones, ranging in color from bright green and unripe to nearly black and looking overripe.
Are plantains healthy for you?
Cooked plantains are nutritionally very similar to a potato, calorie-wise, but contain more of certain vitamins and minerals. They’re a rich source of fiber, vitamins A, C, and B-6, and the minerals magnesium and potassium. This hidden superfood warrants a trip your local grocery.
Where do most plantains from us come from?
Year-round production
Plantains, like bananas, are available year round. For the North American market, they are imported from Mexico, down through Central America and into South America, especially Ecuador.
Do Americans eat plantains?
One reason is we almost never see them in the market. Most Americans have never had an opportunity to eat plantains. In the US, I’ve rarely seen them sold green enough to use for tostones, nor ripe enough to use for fried plantains, and nobody knows how to make mofongo or can find the chicharrones to put in it.
Who produces the most plantain?
1. Uganda. Uganda still became the World’s Biggest Plantain Producers in 2020. According to FAO Statistical Corporate Database in 2022, the production of Uganda’s Plantain around 7,401,579 tonnes.