The sweet, yellow bananas are available in every supermarket and are - along with apples - one of the Germans' favorite fruit. But did you know that there are many other types of bananas? Read about the differences between plantains and regular bananas.
What are the differences between plantains and banana?
Everyone knows sweet bananas - unlike these, plantains arevery starchyand are thereforeprepared like potatoesThey contain hardly any sugar, which is why they are primarily eatenboiled or fried as a filling side dish for hearty dishes. They taste good with meat or fish.
Can you eat plantains raw?
In contrast to sweet bananas - which are also known as dessert bananas - you should not eat plantainsrawDue to the high starch content, they are onlywhen raw difficult to digest and could therefore cause stomach problems. They also taste very different from the well-known sweet bananas.
Plantains are a staple food, especially in Central and South America as well as in Africa, comparable to potatoes here. The green fruits with the thick skin areboiled, fried or deep-fried and served as a side dish.
How do plantains taste different from bananas?
Unlike normal bananas, plantains contain hardly any sugar, but they do contain a lot of starch. That's why they don't taste sweet, butfloury and very bitter. However, the taste changes with the ripeness of the fruit:
- green fruits: unripe, taste very tart
- yellow fruits: tart taste, low sugar content
- brown or black fruits: fully ripe, higher sugar content
The darker the skin of the fruit, the shorter you have to fry or bake it. Yellow and green plantains should becooked well, otherwise they won't taste good. The fully ripe specimens are best suited for baked dishes.
What nutrients do plantains contain?
Surprisingly, despite the higher sugar content, fruit bananas contained fewer calories than plantains. However, the difference is not particularly big: 100 grams of banana contains about 89 kilocalories, while plantains have about122 kilocalories for the same amount.
Plantains contain significantly morepotassium, iron, vitamins A and B6 as well as protein than sweet fruit bananas. Because of their high fructose content, sweet fruit bananas are popular quick sources of energy. They are suitable, for example, as a he althy snack for athletes or for school children or adults during the break.
Are plantains a vegetable or fruit?
Our raw edible supermarket bananas are also known as fruit or dessert bananas. It is usually the Cavendish cultivar, which in its dwarf form can also be cultivated as a houseplant. Plantains, in turn, are also known asflour or vegetable banana. In fact, the fruits of these varieties are not considered fruits, but rather vegetables.
Tip
What is the best way to prepare plantains?
Plantains are particularly often fried in hot fat. To do this, peel the fruit - be careful, the peel is very difficult to come off! – and cut them into pieces about three to five centimeters thick. These are deep fried in hot vegetable oil until crispy and brown. Then season them with a little s alt. They can be eaten with a sweet or savory dip or as a side dish to many dishes.
