Plantain

What it is

A plantain has pronounced ridges and a peel that clings tightly to the fruit. Cutting along the seams makes the skin easier to lift away. As it ripens, the peel changes from green to yellow to black, and the fruit softens.

Green plantains suit frying, boiling and mashing. Yellow ones are sweeter and work grilled or baked; black or almost black ones are very sweet and best in desserts.

Where it comes from

Plantains began in the Asia-Pacific region, but their greatest variety now grows in West and Central Africa. Farmers there selected and replanted plants with useful differences. Plantains reached Latin America from Africa during the slave trade.

They are staple foods across West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, Central America and parts of South America. India has its own named varieties, including Nendran.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Puerto Rico, mofongo is green plantain mashed with pork rind, garlic and stock. In Ghana, boiled green plantain and cassava are pounded into fufu and eaten with soup. Both put the green fruit’s starch to work.

Ghanaian kelewele goes the other way: ripe plantains become sweet, spiced fried pieces. In Ope Amosu’s version, onion, ginger, garlic and cayenne season the fruit before it is fried golden brown.

How it's grown

Plantains grow in warm, humid climates, in moist soil that drains well. Their broad leaves need shelter from damaging winds. What looks like a tree trunk is overlapping leaf bases wrapped into a firm column. After that stem flowers and bears fruit, it dies; new shoots take its place.

When and where you'll find it

Plantains are usually a year-round fruit. Whole green fruit ripens slowly at room temperature; once ripe, it is used within a few days. In grocery snack aisles, fried green plantain chips sit alongside potato chips. The fresh fruit and the crunchy packaged snack start with the same starchy ingredient.