Cooking plantain

The plantain, banana and vegetables, flour banana or Pisangfeige, Spanish " plátano " in Brazil "banana -da -terra ", in many African languages ​​Platan or Plantan, is the fruit of many varieties of banana Musa paradisiaca ×. The plantain is a staple ( similar importance as the potato in Europe) and is suitable in many tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia as a replacement meal for celiac disease patients. In contrast to the dessert banana she's only when fully ripe, recognizable by the ( almost) completely black discolored shell and the soft flesh, raw edible. Usually it is boiled or fried, or fried and cut into strips or slices. For some time, it is also marketed in Germany.

Cultivation

In 2011, nearly 39 million tons of bananas were harvested worldwide. In the ten largest producing countries together 83.0 % of the world were introduced. In a total of 51 countries, about 5.5 million hectares were devoted to the plantain cultivation. The plantain achieved only about a third of the income of the dessert banana; the cultivation of plantain yields an average of about seven tons per hectare, although under good conditions, the seven times the amount could be harvested. The difference is explained by the Subsistenzcharakter of plantain cultivation in contrast to the export nature of the dessert banana cultivation. The floor attachment is probably the most ecologically unbedenklichste cultivation method, because here no spray against disease and predators are used.

Use

The Patacon, also called Tostón in Spanish, is a dish made from flat pieces of fried plantain. He is a popular dish or side dish, in many Latin American countries, but it is not a traditional dish, but was integrated into the country's kitchens.

Kelewele or Kelawele is a popular Ghanaian snack of fried plantains. It is next to Jollofreis and Fufu a very typical side dish of food in Ghana. Kelawele consists of roasted, very spicy plantain slices. The fried slices or cubes of Kochbananane (English " Plantain " ) are for prepared with different spices. The plantain is either sliced ​​or diced. Ginger, cayenne pepper and salt are the typical Kelawele spices. But onions, anise, cloves, cinnamon or chili can be used. Kelawele is a common accompaniment to dishes of fish or chicken. Due to the geographical conditions in the country Kelawele is offered less frequently in the north, but often from the center of the country to the south.

Aloco (also Alloco or Aloko ) is a West African dish of fried in palm oil, plantains. It is served in restaurants in the Ivory Coast, together with a sauce of onions and tomatoes as a side dish, but eaten by the people as a main course.

Matoke, also referred to as Matooke, is a meal consisting of steamed green plantains, and one of the national dishes of Uganda. Usually, the plantains are peeled, wrapped in banana leaves and placed in a cooking pot. Then the filled with water pot is heated and Matoke is attenuated for several hours. While raw white and is quite hard Matoke is soft and yellow by the vapors. After steaming Matoke is mashed to a pulp, while it is still wrapped in the leaves. It is eaten along with meat or fish and a sauce of ground peanuts. In Uganda, the annual per capita consumption of bananas is 172 kg; they cover there for about one-fifth ( 18 %) of the caloric intake of a household.