Bananas vs Plantains | Which To Use And Why

They look similar but taste way different and have unique uses. Chef Matt explains the differences between the common banana and less-known plantain.

Tunes: "We March Together" by Patrick Patrikios

[theperson]

When I was younger my mom accidentally got some plantains instead of bananas because they got mixed together. When I went to eat it it was nice and yellow but I was wondering why it was so hard, I figured it was some sort of super banana lol when I finally got it open and took a bite I was so horrified I threw it away and didn’t eat bananas for many years until I figured out what the hell that thing was lol.

[ekinematics]

Plantain is very common in West Africa, especially Nigeria & Cameroon.
It's a staple to people in Southern Nigeria and sometimes called dodo.

[sudeephari]

Plantain has loads of nutrients. When I grew up in south west of India, we have these plants plenty in our backyard and we called them banana. We eat riped (not too mushy) ones just like a normal banana. Plantains are delicious and one is sufficient to fill your stomach if you don’t have a proper meal. I ate the “western banana” first time in Europe, it felt flavorless and mushy! Due to plantains long shelf life, I sometimes stock ‘em up too. Raw plantains are often cooked in that regions various delicacies.

Next time you buy a plantain, pls do eat them well riped

[spartanlion]

Awesome video. You explained everything in detail and left no questions unanswered. Thank you very much.

[melonie_peppers]

Thank you for this detailed video. We don't have these in Southern Africa because we are in a drier climate.

[thehandleIwanted]

I once went shopping for the nursery school where I worked as the manager sent me to buy some bananas for snack time. I grabbed a bunch of what I thought were bananas and took them to the checkout. The guy looked at me and said "These are not bananas. You want to buy bananas." He got the plantains, brought them back where they belonged and pointed at the bananas. I loved that he just knew I had made a mistake lol

That was the day I discovered plantain 😁

[OisinMcGrath]

I am a carnivore I don’t even do any cooking, but I love your passion, knowledge, communication and enthusiasm so much, I liked and subscribed.

[fritzj]

Great info. I actually eat Dominican Mangu as a pre-work meal before my weight training workout. It's packed with potassium

[nabeelmohammedca]

Plantains are quite common in Kerala, India. In their raw state it can be sliced and fried into a crispy tasty chips. When ripe it can be steamed or fried in batter and consumed. Unlike other bananas like cavendish it takes longer period of time for plantain to ripen. When ripe the skin of plantain turns dark. In Asia there are many varieties of bananas available. My favorite is the red banana, it's very creamy and tasty.

[loribach]

Thank you for sharing the differences between the two. I've heard that if plantains are green they are considered a vegetable; if they're ripe then they're a fruit. Is this true? If so, are there different baking/preparation methods?

[SunShine]

Thank you for this video. Never in my life have I heard of plantains. I ordered and had groceries delivered a few days ago. I always order bananas but shopper obviously thought that these were regular bananas. I also bit into a raw one to taste and didn't like it. Now since watching your video I see that they can be cooked so now checking out recipes.

[myfinalheaven]

Thank you.

This is a wonderful explanation.

[paulgianni]

Thank you for this video and the information. How do their nutritional values differ?

[masterflowbaby]

5:00 I AM FROM THE CARIBBEAN🌊🏝⛱ AND WE HAVE PLANTAINS AND BANANAS OF ALL KINDS AND NO ONE EATS A PLANTAIN WITHOUT COOKING IT, THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE BANANA IS A FRUIT AND THE PLANTAIN IS A FOOD, PLANTAINS HAVE TO BE COOKED TO BE EATEN. WE USE PLANTAINS AT NOON, WE USE THEM FOR LUNCH, WE FRIED THEM WITH FRIED EGGS, TWO OR THREE FRIED EGGS WITHOUT BREAKING THE YELLOW PART AND WHEN EATING THE PLANTAIN WITH EGGS WITHOUT BREAKING THE YELLOW PART, WE DIP THE PLANTAIN WITH THE YELLOW PART AND PLANTAINS TASTE DELICIOUS WHEN YOU USE THE YELLOW PART OF THE EGG AS IF IT WERE A SAUCE. TREAT IT LIKE OR AND ANOTHER THING, A PIECE OF ADVICE I WANTED TO GIVE YOU SO THAT THE BANANA TASTES REALLY GOOD WHEN YOU GO TO FRY IT, ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL THE BANANA GETS COMPLETELY BLACK AND THAT WAY THE BANANA GETS A SUPER UNIQUE FLAVOR. ON THE OUTSIDE YOU THINK IT'S NO WORK BUT ANYONE WHO KNOWS ABOUT CARIBBEAN FOOD KNOWS THAT WHEN IT'S COMPLETELY BLACK IS WHEN IT REALLY TASTES GREAT WHEN YOU FRY IT BECAUSE ON THE INSIDE IT'S VERY YELLOW AND VERY RIPE.

[bram]

bruh, tried them a month ago and im so in love with them, dip them in melted coconut oil, 6min in the airfryer on both sides and gawd, poor some honey over and enjoy. i prefer the plantains from a local african store instead a simple grocery store tho.

[Dmaxwelo]

Plantain also tastes sweet when allowed to ripen well... and can be eaten like normal bananas.

[jamesomondi]

Colours turn from green to black?🤔 That got me a bit confused.... I thought there was yellow somewhere in between Or have I been hallucinating all along? I thought bananas/plantains turn yellow before turning black?

[beaut-ful-d-saster]

Sweet bananas, when overripe, can be frozen and saved and then thawed out for use in a banana loaf or cake or even cupcakes and muffins. The banana mush will look kind of gross, but once you blend it with all the other compnents you only get the sweet banana taste. No gross mouth feel.

[BrianSmith-Fitzgarld]

I have eaten ripe plantain. You have to make sure it's fully ripened. There's also a type of banana that looks just like plantain and can even be fired like plantain. It's called, bullfrog banana, but I have only seen it in Jamaica, because that's where I was born and grew up.

We also have a banana called honey banana, and another banana called, chine-banana, which was my favorite, but it must be fully ripened or else it will be parts ripe and other parts with lumps/not fully ripe.

[thaseeem]

Properly ripe plantains can be eaten raw (should take small bites and chew properly), and are tastier than bananas (personal perspective). Plantains are said to be ripe only when skin turns yellow and black spots starts appears on it.