Plantain

• The Plantain (musa paradisiacal), belongs to banana family.
• It is starchy, low in sugar and is eaten cooked rather than raw.
• The peel of plantain is green, brown or black in color. The interior color of the fruit is creamy, yellowish or lightly pink. The flavor of the flesh is bland and its texture is starchy. As the peel changes to brown or black, it has a sweeter flavor and more of a banana aroma, but still keeps a firm shape when cooked.
• A banana is ready to eat when the skin is yellow whereas a plantain is not ready to eat "out of hand" until hydrolysis has progressed to the point where the skin is almost black. The fruit is eaten at all stages of ripeness from green to black.
• The sweet banana is very easily digested, but the plantain must be boiled, steamed, roasted, or deep fried to make it soft and palatable.
• Plantain has the stinging, bitter latex, so the peel is removed with a knife and the pulp is soaked in salt water for 5-10 minutes before cooking.
• Plantains are bigger than bananas, harder to peel (especially when green. Plantains are very versatile. They are always ready for cooking no matter what stage of ripeness - green, yellow or black, and plantains are used in different dishes from appetizers to desserts.
• Plantain is eaten in most tropical countries of the world.