Green Plantain
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Green Plantain
Plantains look very much like bananas but are very different in many respects. Most notably their flesh is firm and starchy tasting rather than soft and sweet like a banana's.
Plantains are usually eaten at the "green" stage of the ripening process. As plantains ripen the skin turns yellow then black, the flesh also becomes very slightly sweeter.
There are two methods of preparing boiled green plantains
Boiling Plantains With the Skin On
Wash the plantains thoroughly in hot soapy water to remove any remaining traces of pesticides and artificial fertilisers
Drop the plantains in to a saucepan of boiling water
Boil for about 20 minutes - you will know they are ready if the flesh feels tender when pricked with a fork
Peel then serve (the skin should come off fairly easily after cooking
Boiling Plantains Peeled
It is much more difficult to remove the skin of a plantain than that of a banana, the most commonly used technique is to:
Cut the ends of the plantains off
Cut along each of the ridges
Peel the skin away in sections
The peeled Plantains can then be boiled as per the instructions above