The Ultimate Plantain Guide

If you have come to this page you are most likely intrigued about plantains, have never had them and looking for advice on where to start or have had experience with plantains but not sure what to do with plantains at different stages of ripeness. Well you have come to the right place. In this post, I hope to share a comprehensive guide on how to buy, store and cook plantains at every stage. This has taken weeks of putting together, testing and creating and I hope you enjoy it. 

Where to buy plantains

Before you start cooking plantains, you have to buy them first. The best place to get plantains, in my opinion, are Chinese or any ethnic grocery stores (Latin American, Caribbean, African). These people are familiar with tropical foods and most likely have the best quality plantain. Some grocery stores are getting better at carrying quality plantains; we have purchased ours from Whole Foods and they do just fine. But I will still try and get them at these ethnic grocery stores if you have access before going to grocery stores to get them. This way you might be supporting POC businesses. Unless you are not purposely getting plantains to make plantain chips, I highly suggest getting them yellow with little to few spots. I think these are best because the skin is still hard enough to transport safely without bruises, but if you don’t have this opportunity, just get what is available.

What should you look for?

Not all green plantains will turn yellow. I know it is very sad coming home with a plantain, waiting a few days and realizing it hasn’t changed colour at all. Sometimes it may be due to the fact that it was picked way too early or its the variety of plantains that stay green. Honestly, it is hard to tell between which one will turn yellow and which will not, but something to keep in mind is that the ones that will turn yellow will have a bit of a yellow hint to it. It is also much thicker than the green plantain that will stay green. Honestly, your best option is to look at the plantain well and pick one that is not deep green with black spots on it. This is why, again, I suggest ethnic stores because they for sure separate the two versions. They are not afraid to sell produce that are already at the ripe state unlike conventional supermarkets where most fruit sold are literally two to three days away from being ripe. 

Properly storing your plantains

So now that you have brought back your plantains, you need to find somewhere to store it. If you want the plantains to ripe, you must store it in a nice warm place. Plantains are tropical starches and only ripe well when in a warm environment. To increase the speed of ripening, you will want to include a very red and plum tomato, ripe avocado or a ripe banana in a brown bag with the plantains and store in a warm dark place. These added fruits will release ethylene gas to speed up the ripening process.

I repeat: do not leave it out in the cold and do not store it in the fridge when it is green. This is especially important if you live in a cold environment. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to get my yellow plantains to ripe in the winter only to be faced with disappointment. They turn black on the outside but are not sweet on the inside. Just like what happens when you stick it in the fridge when it’s not ripe. I say all of this to say that you should keep it in a nice warm place, whether that is in your oven when its not being used or a kitchen cabinet that is relatively empty.

Cooking Plantains

Yellow plantain with no spots

The plantains are firm. They do not have as much sugar as the more ripe versions of plantains but they are still a great sweet addition to your foods. You can boil them, bake them or fry them. My personal favourite way is to boil them because they can hold up well and are still sweet. In Ghana we mash this with onions, peanut butter and palm oil to make eto, but I also love boiling this to eat with a sauce.

Boil

Cut the plantain into three, wash very well and place in a pot with enough water to cover the plantain with an inch above the plantain. Add salt and boil the plantain covered for about 15 minutes at medium heat. It is ready when you poke it with a toothpick or fork and it goes through easily. The finish product is firm but you can use a fork to cut through it easily

Fry

We will use this same method to fry plantains at all different stages. Slice into 1/2 inch thick coins. In a pan, add enough oil to coat the surface of the pan and heat the pan to medium heat to keep the plantains from burning. Place the plantains in the pan and cook on one side till the edges start to turn brown. This should take about 5 minutes, flip the plantains and repeat on the other side. Please pay very good attention to the plantains because you do not want them to burn and be raw inside. These should be a light caramel/ yellow-ish when you are done, firm but still sweet.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Slice the plantains into 1 inch coins and mix with coconut oil and some salt. Place on a baking tray lined with reusable silicon mat or parchment paper. Bake for 30 min flipping half way

Air-fry

Slice into 1 inch thick coins and coat with a little bit of oil. Place in the airfrier at 360°F for 15 minutes, turning it after 10 minutes on one side then leaving it to cook for another 5 mins

Recipes to try with this type of plantains

• The boiled plantains are perfect sides for Ayamase Stew, the Peanut Lentil Stew or swapping the cracked wheat for the Plantains in the Winter Lentil Bowl
• The fried/ baked or air fried are perfect for my Red Red Stew or as a side for Jollof Rice. You can also add it to your grain bowls for a sweet addition

Yellow plantain with some black spots

These plantains are sweet and still starchy. They are firm when cooked and also firm with fried/baked or air-fryed. But even though they are firm, they are still sweet. This is the perfect yellow plantain in my opinion because I find it to be the most versatile amongst all these types. You can boil it, fry it, air-fry it and bake it

Fry

Following the same process outlined above, repeat the same process. However, these fried plantains will be softer, sweeter and will caramelize more. If done properly then it should be brown

Boil

Following the same process outlined above, boil the plantains till soft. Keep an eye on it after the 10 minute mark because you can easily over cook it and it will turn mushy. So once you have passed the ten minute mark, check the plantains. If it feels stiff in the middle when you poke it with a fork or toothpick, continue to cook it till it is easier to go through. The finish product is soft and sweet

Baking and Air Frying

These cooking methods follow the same process as outlined above. They will come out more caramelized since it is sweeter and has more sugar

Recipes to try with this type of plantains

• The boiled plantains are perfect sides for Ayamase Stew, the Peanut Lentil Stew or swapping the cracked wheat for the Plantains in the Winter Lentil Bowl
• The fried/ baked or air fried plantains are perfect for my Red Red Stew or as a side for Jollof Rice. You can also add it to your grain bowls for a sweet addition

Yellow Plantains with A Lot of Black Spots

These plantains are very soft, but their softness opens up a whole new variety of recipes to try. I will be releasing more recipes to make with these so stay tuned. I will update this blog post as more of these recipes are released

Fry

You can fry soft plantains and people actually prefer these. You can follow the same process outlined above. Be careful with the oil because if it is not hot enough, the soft plantains will absorb it. But, if it is too hot, the plantains will burn and the inside will be raw. Keep it at a medium heat and keep an eye on it. It should be brown, soft and really sweet. If you are not too keen with soft textures, this might not be for you.

These are also perfect as toppings. You can use them on top of oatmeal or crepes as caramelized plantains instead of bananas

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Recipe to try with soft plantains

• These soft fried plantains when fried are a favourite for Red Red
• Kelewele
• Plantain Pancakes

Black Plantains

These plantains can function just like over ripe plantains in pancakes and banana bread. Be careful not to use them for smoothies or raw foods since they are starchy and need to be cooked. In Ghana, these are used for tatale/kaklo which are spicy plantain fritters

Recipe to try with soft plantains

• Plantain pancakes
• Kelewele

Hope you found this post useful. I did not include green plantains in this because it is still a work in progress. As always, leave your questions for me in the comments section

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