WHAT IS GREEN PLANTAIN?
A big long unripe banana, that’s how I would describe it. A plantain is green when not ripe and yellow when ripe. Plantain is about twice the length of a banana, approximately 12 inches long and about 2 inches on its widest part.
GREEN PLANTAIN NUTRITION FACTS
Unripe plantain is rich in potassium, magnesium iron, vitamin A and the B complex vitamins. It is a rich source of fibre and starch. It is also low in sugar, calorie, fat and salt.
HEALTH BENEFITS GREEN PLANTAIN
Green plantain has a very rich nutrition content, this means it has lots and lots of health benefits such as:
- It can be included in a weight loss meal plan
- It is an ideal meal during pregnancy
- It builds body immunity
- very good meal for fighting Diabetics
- It helps fight erectile dysfunction and low sperm count
- It helps improve iron deficiency
- Aids blood circulation
- Maintains a healthy heart
HOW TO USE GREEN PLANTAIN
So many uses have been attributed to the Green Plantain such as; meals, tea, snacks, juice and Platain flour
Green Plantain meals include:
plantain porridge – Plantain is diced, then boiled with vegetables and fish till soft. Mix and serve.
Plantain fufu – Plantain Flour is mixed in hot water into a very thick dough like paste and served with soup or Stew.
boiled plantain – chop plantain into 3 or 4 pieces, boil in water till soft. Serve with Stew.
Grilled or roasted plantain – Peel off the skin and place the Plantain on the grill or BBQ. Turn it over a couple of times till it is evenly brown.
Fried plantain (fried Plantain is not encouraged in a healthy meal due to the high amount of oil used in the frying)
Green Plantain snack
A very popular snack made from
Green Plantain is plantain chips.
The plantain is sliced thinly and fried.
For a healthy option,some prefer to dry plantain into chips. Sometimes it is salted.
Green Plantain flour
Plantain flour is made by slicing plantain into long thin slices, leaving those slices to dry and milling the dried slices into flour. It is always best to make your own plantain flour, the ones sold are mostly mixed with other carbohydrate foods like cassava.
I would like to know if you have learnt or benefited from this post, please leave a comment below.
Green plantain sounds healthier than bananas, could you use green bananas the same way you use plantain?
How can I use plantain green as a healthy diet, I would not wish to fry them so what other options do I have? Are there recipes for making this fruit /veggie, I have seen them in the shops here at times but do not know how to prepare them other than frying?
Hi Jeffrey,
Yes, green plantain is very healthy. The best way to cook it is to cut it into 1 inch cubes and boil it into a stew with other vegetables like chopped tomatoes, onions, kale and spices.
I’ll add a recipe or two onto the plantain page. Thanks for coming by Jeffrey.
Hmmmm. Have wondered about green plantain in the past and knew it had something to do with bananas but also knew they were still not bananas. Can you eat these raw and if so, do they taste good? Where do they grow mainly? Do they need to grow in a humid/hot environment or can they be grown anywhere? Thanks for the interesting info.
Hi Liz,
Pleases don’t eat green plantain raw. They need to be boiled or fried. And yes they grow mainly in the tropics not everywhere.
Thanks for coming by
I was first introduced to plantain through Puerto Rican food. I saw them in markets before but I always thought they were just extra large bananas. But I think plantain had a slight difference in taste than bananas. Are there any big differences in nutritional values? And what are some pros and cons compare to bananas?
Hi Joon
They are both great. Banana is rich in fructose while Green plantain is rich in iron.
Hi, so what does green plantain taste like if it’s from the banana family does it taste similar to an unripe banana? I must admit I had never heard of it before coming across your site. I’m interested in the texture how would you describe it? Do they go yellow when ripe? Would you say the skin is the same as a banana? thanks Jason
Hi Jason,
Green plantain is very similar to banana but bigger. Yes it has a similar taste to unripe banana, it does turn yellow softer and tastes sweet when ripe. It’s skin is also similar to a banana but thicker. Unlike banana it is not normally eaten raw when ripe. It has to be boiled, grilled or fried when ripe and unripe.
Thanks for coming by Jason
I must admit I have never seen a plantain, green or otherwise. I do recognise its name though.
If its anything like eating a green banana then I can’t imagine it tasting very good! I know it’s not a banana so its most probably very different.
Can you tell me what the difference is between eating a green plantain to a ripe plantain? Taste and nutrition?
Hi Marilyn,
Green plantain is very rich in iron while ripe plantain is mostly carbohydrate. Green plantain has a plain taste and is never eaten raw. Ripe plantain is yellow, tastes sweet and can be eaten raw. Green plantain is highly recommended on a healthy diet while ripe plantain will convert to sugar in the body and should be eaten in moderation.
Thanks for coming by, I’ll be saying a lot more on green plantain in future posts it’s an amazing food item!
Great article. Straight to te point. The best thing about this food is that it can be prepared and eat without any issue in a lot of different recipes. Your post may be short, but it has a lot of value inside. I highly suggest you to add some recipes samples to stimulates the people to eat it. There are a lot of them which are very easy to prepare and healthy too. Overall, I love the intention of this article. Well Done
Thanks for coming by Javier, I’ll definitely be loading up some serving suggestions. (After Christmas)
It sounds not very delicious to eat unripe banana. It seems that in Africa is full of a healthy diet products, then why so many people fleeing to Europe? In Europe, like the United States so many suffer from non healthy product consumption which lead to many kinds of diseases.
Thanks Andrejs,
You are right, Africa is very rich in healthy food. The fleeing is a mystery to me as well. Green plantain can be made into various delicious meals. (I’ll post it’s recipe soon) Please don’t eat it on it’s own.
Hey, I’d never heard of plantain before. I had always heard that bananas are better when they are green because they have less sugar, but this is more than just a green normal banana, isn’t it? This is actually a related fruit of the same family?
One big problem with normal ripe bananas is that they are high in sugar. A lot of people eat bananas thinking they are a healthy snack, but unless you are playing tennis or running a marathon they are too quick release.
How did you find out about green plantain?
Hi Marcus,
thanks for coming by. Yes, it more than a normal banana but is in the same family. It grows in the tropics and can be purchased anywhere in the world.
Someone told me about it when I was pregnant with my first child. They said it is the best meal during pregnancy. I tried it and got hooked. I have created some recipes on it. (I’ll post some soon). Now I am spreading the good news.
This was very informational. I had no idea you could actually eat unripe bananas without getting sick. For some reason that was something I’d heard all my life. This is really good to know information.
If it’s unripe, it MUST be cooked! Peel, then boil it or slice and fry it, or sort of roast it with some moisture — great with a roast. Passing lemon or lime juice over it immediately after peeling will keep it from turning dark and ugly. It’s still good to eat if you don’t do this, just not as pretty. Oh…and your fingers are very likely to stain dark also — very unattractive and very hard to remove. Use the lime juice on them, too. Also, try not to stain your clothes with it; it’s hard to take out.
Thank you Sandy!