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Bananas Trivia

Source of Recipe

by Grandpoohbah, from elboricua.com


Recipe Link: www.elboricua.com/platanos.html

T R I V I A

The existence of an organized banana plantation can be found in China back in the year 200 AD.

The earliest written reference to the banana is in Sanskrit in a Buddhist text that dates back to around 600 BC.

Alexander the Great discovered bananas in his conquest of India in 327 B.C.
In the Middle Ages, both Moslems and Christians thought that the banana was the forbidden fruit of paradise.

The word "banana" is derived from the Arabic word "finger." Bananas are believed to have entered Africa from Malaysia, rather than from India, by way of Madagascar during the first millennium AD. The crop then moved eastwards across the Pacific. By the end of the sixteenth century, bananas had spread widely throughout the tropics.

South American Indians boiled the plantain peels and drank this liquid as a cure for colds. Even today, a hearty plantain soup has been credited with curing anything from the common cold to tuberculosis.

Did you know that there are over 500 different types of bananas. That means if you ate a different kind of banana everyday, it would take almost a year and a half to eat every one.

Although generally regarded as a tree, this large tropical plant is really an herb. That means it does not have a woody trunk like a tree. The compacted, water-filled leaf stalk is composed of leaf sheaths that overlap each other and grow from an underground stem called a rhizome..

The banana plant can grow as high as 20 feet (or 6 meters) tall. That's as big as a 2 story house. They are the world's largest herb.

Bananas are not just green and yellow, some bananas are red.
Bananas are almost fat free. One banana is about 99.5% fat free! An average banana contains about 90 calories.

Bananas are great source of potassium. Potassium helps build muscle power and keeps your body fluids in balance.

Plantains are a type of banana that is treated like a vegatable. It is rarely eaten raw, instead; it is fried or baked.

Plantain and banana trees can be purchased in plant nurseries. Keep indoors as houseplants. They like moisture and heat. Mist the leaves often.
As the green color of bananas turns to yellow, the starch in the fruit turns to sugar. .

When peeling plantains, moisten hands and rub with salt to prevent the juices from sticking to your hands.


Cooking with Plantains & Bananas


The wonderful thing about plantains is that they truly are a versatile food. As a plantain ripens, its high starch content changes to sugar. Plantains are good at any stage; it just depends on what you want to make. Plantains are a relative of the banana, but are bigger, less sweet and need to be cooked before they are eaten. Plantains also keep their shape when cooked, unlike bananas, which get mushy.

Green or "unripe" plantains contain a lot of starch and very little sweetness. Their starchy flesh is used more as a vegetable than a fruit. They can be used in soups, stews, boiled and mashed. Most Puerto Rican that use plantains call for green plantains. Plátanos verdes need to be VERY green without a hint of yellow.

The next stage of ripeness is when the skin is mostly yellow with a few black speckles. In this stage of ripeness, the plantain has lost some of its starch and is slightly sweet. Plantains at this stage can be thinly sliced and fried, mashed or they can be baked until tender and served with roasted meats.

When a plantain is totally ripe, the peel is almost completely black. Although these plantains might look past their prime, this is when their sugar content is the highest but the flesh is still nice and firm. It is at this stage that the plantain most resembles a banana. A ripe plantain can be used in savory or sweet dishes. You pan-fry them with some butter, rum, and brown sugar and serve over ice cream. When buying ripe plantains, they should be firm and not mushy or cracked.
If you need ripe plantains and only have green ones, they ripen at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, in a few days.

When peeling plantains or green bananas, moisten hands and rub with salt to prevent the juices from sticking to your hands.

Cut off about 1 inch from both ends.

Using a sharp knife, make 2 lengthwise cuts at opposite ends of the plantain.

While holding the plantain steady with your left hand, use your right hand to slide the tip of the knife under the skin and begin to pull it away, going from top to bottom.

Soak the peeled plantains or bananas in salted water. Drain on a paper towel to use in your recipe.

Plantains or plátanos are big on nutrition and are a staple food in the Caribbean. They can be fried, boiled, mashed, stuffed, used for stuffing, baked, picked, and even grilled. The plátano is served as a side dish. The plantain while green is considered a starch, when ripe a fruit. Plantains must be cooked. For those recipes requiring green plantains, choose the greenest without a hint of yellow. The best yellow plantains (called amarillos) are very yellow almost orange, often with black speckles. The favorite Puerto Rican plantain recipe is tostones.



BOILED GREEN BANANAS AND PLANTAINS:
1. Cut off the ends and make a lengthwise slit on the banana skin.
2. Boil without peeling.
3. Use enough salted water to cover plantains over two inches.
4. Plantains should boil for 15 to 20 minutes. Feel with a fork to see if they are ready. You don't want them mushy but slightly hard at the center.
5. These may be used in cooking or served with olive oil as a side dish.