How to Grill Plantains
Plantains might look like big bananas but they are not sweet like bananas are.
Plantains can be used to make sweet or savory recipes, depending on what you add to them and how they are cooked.
You can cook plantains at any stage of ripeness and they contain a lot of folate, which is known for its cancer preventing abilities.
Unripe plantains have a green or greenish yellow skin and a starchy texture.
The riper a plantain gets, the sweeter it becomes.
Plantains have natural brown spots and rough areas.
They grow best in areas, which are protected from strong winds and where the temperatures are more or less constant.
Plantains have been grown in Florida since the 1500s but this is not a major area for plantain production because of the occasional freezes.
How Plantains Differ from Bananas Bananas are sweet, small compared to plantains and they have a thinner skin.
Bananas are eaten as a fruit because of their natural sweetness, whereas plantains are starchy and used as a vegetable.
A plantain might resemble a green banana but plantains also come in yellow or black.
Bananas are green when unripe, yellow when ripe and black when overripe.
A banana has about 83% water content, compared to the lower water content of 65% found in a plantain, making bananas softer and less firm when they are cooked.
Plantains are in the banana family but they are a low sugar variety and they are cooked before serving.
Plantains are usually baked, fried, or grilled and they are especially popular throughout the Caribbean and in West African countries.
Grilling Tips for Plantains Plantains, even very ripe ones, keep their shape when cooked, making them great for grilling.
You can add spices like curry powder or chili powder to plantains before grilling them or rum, honey and sugar to give them a sweet flavor.
Lemon juice or lime juice is nice to squeeze over the plantains before you cook them or to serve with them.
One great way to grill plantains is to cut them into chunks and thread them on to skewers.
Then you will get attractive grill marks on the plantain flesh.
Recipe for Sweet and Spicy Grilled Plantain On every Caribbean island there are vendors selling grilled plantains at the roadside.
When flour used to be a luxury item many years ago, plantains were roasted or grilled and served instead of bread.
The following recipe calls for three medium sized plantains and this recipe feeds six people.
What you will need:
Slice the unpeeled plantains in half lengthwise, and then cut each piece in half crosswise.
Mix together the pepper, butter, sugar, and brush this mixture over the plantain pieces.
Put them cut side up on a cooking spray-coated grill rack and grill until the flesh is soft and the skin is pulling away from it.
This will take six to eight minutes.
Turn the plantain pieces over and cook them for three minutes on the other side.
Serve them hot with the lime wedges on the side.
Plantains can be used to make sweet or savory recipes, depending on what you add to them and how they are cooked.
You can cook plantains at any stage of ripeness and they contain a lot of folate, which is known for its cancer preventing abilities.
Unripe plantains have a green or greenish yellow skin and a starchy texture.
The riper a plantain gets, the sweeter it becomes.
Plantains have natural brown spots and rough areas.
They grow best in areas, which are protected from strong winds and where the temperatures are more or less constant.
Plantains have been grown in Florida since the 1500s but this is not a major area for plantain production because of the occasional freezes.
How Plantains Differ from Bananas Bananas are sweet, small compared to plantains and they have a thinner skin.
Bananas are eaten as a fruit because of their natural sweetness, whereas plantains are starchy and used as a vegetable.
A plantain might resemble a green banana but plantains also come in yellow or black.
Bananas are green when unripe, yellow when ripe and black when overripe.
A banana has about 83% water content, compared to the lower water content of 65% found in a plantain, making bananas softer and less firm when they are cooked.
Plantains are in the banana family but they are a low sugar variety and they are cooked before serving.
Plantains are usually baked, fried, or grilled and they are especially popular throughout the Caribbean and in West African countries.
Grilling Tips for Plantains Plantains, even very ripe ones, keep their shape when cooked, making them great for grilling.
You can add spices like curry powder or chili powder to plantains before grilling them or rum, honey and sugar to give them a sweet flavor.
Lemon juice or lime juice is nice to squeeze over the plantains before you cook them or to serve with them.
One great way to grill plantains is to cut them into chunks and thread them on to skewers.
Then you will get attractive grill marks on the plantain flesh.
Recipe for Sweet and Spicy Grilled Plantain On every Caribbean island there are vendors selling grilled plantains at the roadside.
When flour used to be a luxury item many years ago, plantains were roasted or grilled and served instead of bread.
The following recipe calls for three medium sized plantains and this recipe feeds six people.
What you will need:
- 1 1/2 lbs soft black plantains
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 6 lime wedges
- Cooking spray
Slice the unpeeled plantains in half lengthwise, and then cut each piece in half crosswise.
Mix together the pepper, butter, sugar, and brush this mixture over the plantain pieces.
Put them cut side up on a cooking spray-coated grill rack and grill until the flesh is soft and the skin is pulling away from it.
This will take six to eight minutes.
Turn the plantain pieces over and cook them for three minutes on the other side.
Serve them hot with the lime wedges on the side.
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