Plantain (cooking)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about any starchy banana used in cooking. For for other uses, see Plantain.
| Plantain | |
|---|---|
Plantains for sale | |
| Details | |
| Genus | Musa |
| Species | Musa × paradisiaca |
| Hybrid parentage | M. acuminata × M. balbisiana |
| Cultivar group | Cultivars from a number of groups, including the AAA Group, the AAB Group and the ABB Group |
| Origin | Southeast Asia, South Asia |
Plantain (/ˈplæntɨn/;[1][2] also US /ˈplɑːntɨn/[1] or UK /plænˈteɪn/)[3][4] is one of the common names for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and their fruits, the other being "banana". Cooking bananas are often informally referred to as plantains by some cultures, but by other cultures the word plantain doesn't always refer to any cooking banana. There is no formal botanical distinction between plantains and bananas. The broadest sense of the two terms, used here, is based purely on how the fruits are consumed. Plantains are typically eaten cooked and are usually large, angular and starchy, in contrast to dessert bananas, which are typically eaten raw and are usually smaller, more rounded and sugary. In some countries, there may appear to be a clear distinction between cooking plantains and sweet bananas, but in other countries, where many more cultivated varieties (cultivars) are used, the differences are not so clear-cut. A subgroup of plantain cultivars may be distinguished as "true" plantains.
All modern plantain cultivars have three sets of chromosomes (i.e. they are triploid). Many are hybrids derived from the cross of two wild species,Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The curently accepted scientific name for all such crosses is Musa × paradisiaca.[5] Using Simmonds and Shepherds' (1955) genome-based nomenclature system,[6] cultivars which are used as plaintains often belong to the AAB Group, although some, like the East African Highland bananas, belong to the AAA Group, and others, such as Saba bananas, belong to the ABB Group.
All members of the genus Musa are indigenous to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago (modernIndonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines) and Northern Australia.[7] Africa is considered a secondary centre of diversity of Musa cultivars: West Africa for plantains and the central highlands for East African Highland bananas (Musa AAA-EAHB, also known as Matooke or Matoke in Uganda), most of which are cooked although some are primarily used to produce beer.
Plantains are a major food staple in East Africa, West and Central Africa (Cameroon), Central America, the Caribbean Islands and northern, coastal parts of South America (Colombia, Venezuela, etc.). Their attractiveness as food is that they fruit all year round, making them a reliable all-season staple food.
Uses as food
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 510 kJ (120 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 31.9 g |
| - Sugars | 15 g |
| - Dietary fiber | 2.3 g |
| Fat | 0.37 g |
| Protein | 1.3 g |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 56 μg (7%) |
| Thiamine (vit. B1) | 0.052 mg (5%) |
| Riboflavin (vit. B2) | 0.054 mg (5%) |
| Niacin (vit. B3) | 0.686 mg (5%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.3 mg (23%) |
| Folate (vit. B9) | 22 μg (6%) |
| Vitamin C | 18.4 mg (22%) |
| Vitamin K | 0.7 μg (1%) |
| Calcium | 3 mg (0%) |
| Iron | 0.6 mg (5%) |
| Magnesium | 37 mg (10%) |
| Phosphorus | 34 mg (5%) |
| Potassium | 499 mg (11%) |
| Zinc | 0.14 mg (1%) |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database | |
[edit]Steamed, boiled, grilled, baked, or fried
In countries located in Central America and the Caribbean, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Honduras and Jamaica, the plantain is either simply fried, boiled or added to a soup. In Kerala, ripe plantain is steamed and is a popular breakfast dish. In Ghana, boiled plantain is eaten withkontomire stew, cabbage stew or fante-fante (fish) stew. The boiled plantain can be mixed with groundnut paste, pepper, onion and palm oil to makeeto, which is eaten with avocado and without pork. Ripe plantains can also be fried and eaten with black eyed beans cooked in palm oil; a popular breakfast dish. Kelewele, a Ghanaian snack, is spiced ripe plantain deep fried in palm oil or vegetable oil.
In the southern United States, particularly in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, plantains are most often grilled. In Nigeria, plantain is eaten boiled, fried or roasted; roasted plantain, called boli is usually eaten with palm oil or groundnut. In Guatemala, ripe plantains are eaten boiled, fried, or in a special combination where they are boiled, mashed and then stuffed with sweetened black beans. Afterwards, they are deep fried in sunflower or corn oil. The dish is called Rellenitos de Plátano and is served as a dessert. In Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba plantains are sometimes boiled, mashed and then eaten with fried eggs for breakfast.
[edit]Fruit
Plantains can be used for cooking at any stage of ripeness, and very ripe plantain can be eaten raw. As the plantain ripens, it becomes sweeter and its color changes from green to yellow to black, just like bananas. Green plantains are firm and starchy, and resemble potatoes in flavor. Yellow plantains are softer and starchy, but sweet. Extremely ripe plantains have softer, deep yellow pulp that is much sweeter than the earlier stages of ripeness.
Plantains in the yellow to black stages can be used in sweet dishes. Steam-cooked plantains are considered a nutritious food for infants and the elderly. A ripe plantain is used as food for infants at weaning; it is mashed with a pinch of salt and is believed to be more easily digestible than ripe banana.[citation needed]
The sap from both the fruit peel and the entire plant can stain clothing and hands, and can be very difficult to remove.
Nutrition
Plantain is a carbohydrate source. Its utilizable protein content as percentage of calorie ingestion is higher than sago and cassava, but is much lower than other staples such as yam, maize, rice, potato and wheat. On per gram consumed basis, plantain's essential amino acid concentrations are very low, even lower than cassava. The low fat content of plantain, coupled with its high starch content, makes it a possible food for geriatric patients. It may also be a possible food alternative for people suffering from gastric ulcer, coeliac disease and in the relief of colitis.[13]
Plantain contains very little beta-carotene. The vitamin C content of plantain is very similar to those of sweet potato, cassava and potato, but the concentration may vary with the crop, maturity at harvest, soil, and farming conditions.[13]
[edit]Comparison to other staple foods
The following table shows the nutrient content of plantain and major staple foods in a raw harvested form. Raw forms, however, aren't edible and can not be digested. These must be sprouted, or prepared and cooked for human consumption. In sprouted or cooked form, the relative nutritional and anti-nutritional contents of each of these staples is remarkably different from that of raw form of these staples reported in the table below.
| STAPLE: | Maize / Corn[A] | Rice[B] | Wheat[C] | Potato[D] | Cassava[E] | Soybean (Green)[F] | Sweet potato[G] | Sorghum[H] | Yam[Y] | Plantain[Z] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Component (per 100g portion) | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount | Amount |
| Water (g) | 76 | 12 | 11 | 79 | 60 | 68 | 77 | 9 | 70 | 65 |
| Energy (kJ) | 360 | 1528 | 1419 | 322 | 670 | 615 | 360 | 1419 | 494 | 511 |
| Protein (g) | 3.2 | 7.1 | 13.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 13.0 | 1.6 | 11.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| Fat (g) | 1.18 | 0.66 | 2.47 | 0.09 | 0.28 | 6.8 | 0.05 | 3.3 | 0.17 | 0.37 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 19 | 80 | 71 | 17 | 38 | 11 | 20 | 75 | 28 | 32 |
| Fiber (g) | 2.7 | 1.3 | 10.7 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 4.2 | 3 | 6.3 | 4.1 | 2.3 |
| Sugar (g) | 3.22 | 0.12 | 0 | 0.78 | 1.7 | 0 | 4.18 | 0 | 0.5 | 15 |
| Calcium (mg) | 2 | 28 | 34 | 12 | 16 | 197 | 30 | 28 | 17 | 3 |
| Iron (mg) | 0.52 | 4.31 | 3.52 | 0.78 | 0.27 | 3.55 | 0.61 | 4.4 | 0.54 | 0.6 |
| Magnesium (mg) | 37 | 25 | 144 | 23 | 21 | 65 | 25 | 0 | 21 | 37 |
| Phosphorus (mg) | 89 | 115 | 508 | 57 | 27 | 194 | 47 | 287 | 55 | 34 |
| Potassium (mg) | 270 | 115 | 431 | 421 | 271 | 620 | 337 | 350 | 816 | 499 |
| Sodium (mg) | 15 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 15 | 55 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| Zinc (mg) | 0.45 | 1.09 | 4.16 | 0.29 | 0.34 | 0.99 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.24 | 0.14 |
| Copper (mg) | 0.05 | 0.22 | 0.55 | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.13 | 0.15 | - | 0.18 | 0.08 |
| Manganese (mg) | 0.16 | 1.09 | 3.01 | 0.15 | 0.38 | 0.55 | 0.26 | - | 0.40 | - |
| Selenium (mcg) | 0.6 | 15.1 | 89.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Vitamin C (mg) | 6.8 | 0 | 0 | 19.7 | 20.6 | 29 | 2.4 | 0 | 17.1 | 18.4 |
| Thiamin (mg) | 0.20 | 0.58 | 0.42 | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.44 | 0.08 | 0.24 | 0.11 | 0.05 |
| Riboflavin (mg) | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.18 | 0.06 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.05 |
| Niacin (mg) | 1.70 | 4.19 | 6.74 | 1.05 | 0.85 | 1.65 | 0.56 | 2.93 | 0.55 | 0.69 |
| Pantothenic acid (mg) | 0.76 | 1.01 | 0.94 | 0.30 | 0.11 | 0.15 | 0.80 | - | 0.31 | 0.26 |
| Vitamin B6 (mg) | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.42 | 0.30 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.21 | - | 0.29 | 0.30 |
| Folate Total (mcg) | 46 | 231 | 43 | 16 | 27 | 165 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 22 |
| Vitamin A (IU) | 208 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 180 | 14187 | 0 | 138 | 1127 |
| Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol (mg) | 0.07 | 0.11 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.19 | 0 | 0.26 | 0 | 0.39 | 0.14 |
| Vitamin K (mcg) | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0 | 1.8 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.7 |
| Beta-carotene (mcg) | 52 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8509 | 0 | 83 | 457 |
| Lutein+zeazanthin (mcg) | 764 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| Saturated fatty acids (g) | 0.18 | 0.18 | 0.45 | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.79 | 0.02 | 0.46 | 0.04 | 0.14 |
| Monounsaturated fatty acids (g) | 0.35 | 0.21 | 0.34 | 0.00 | 0.08 | 1.28 | 0.00 | 0.99 | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| Polyunsaturated fatty acids (g) | 0.56 | 0.18 | 0.98 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 3.20 | 0.01 | 1.37 | 0.08 | 0.07 |
| A corn, sweet, yellow, raw | B rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw | ||||||||
| C wheat, durum | D potato, flesh and skin, raw | ||||||||
| E cassava, raw | F soybeans, green, raw | ||||||||
| G sweet potato, raw, unprepared | H sorghum, raw | ||||||||
| Y yam, raw | Z plantains, raw |
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