How to Peel the Sycamore - Properties and Curiosities

Have you ever heard of "cooking bananas" and of "plane trees”?
Personally, I became aware of these fruits because in the supermarket I confused them for simple giant bananas! In reality, these are special TROPICAL BANANAS belonging to the Musa genus and to the same family as the common bananas (Musaceae), native to India and Malaysia: for their extraordinary starch content, the plantains are also referred to as "Caribbean pasta / potatoes ".
Think that these fruits represent a staple food in various tropical countries, so much so that they are consumed just like POTATOES!
Compared to YELLOW BANANAS, plantains are richer in starch; moreover, they have a very hard, stringy, almost woody skin (especially when they are green).

The cooking method depends on the degree of ripeness of the plane trees:

• Green plane trees: they are perfect to be eaten cooked (fried in oil, steamed, boiled). The pulp is very hard, crunchy and glassy (reminiscent of potatoes) and the skin can be removed with a knife. They should not be eaten raw because they are not very digestible due to the high amount of starch.
• Yellow plane trees (medium ripe): they can be eaten both raw and cooked. Steam cooking is ideal.
• Black plane trees (maximum degree of ripeness in which starches are transformed into sugars): they can be eaten raw. Boiled and mashed, they are ideal for weaning babies. Ripe plantains can also be baked in the oven. Black plantains have a sweet, intense and persistent taste, also perfect to combine with savory dishes.

Property
We have said that plantains are very nutritious foods. In fact, 100 g of plantain pulp provide about 120 Kcal. Energy is mostly supplied by carbohydrates, while the dose of fats and proteins is rather low. They are very rich in potassium (499 mg / 100 g).
The quantity of vitamin A and vitamin C are also relevant: to fill up with antioxidants, it is advisable to take raw plantains, therefore when the skin is very dark.

How to speed up ripening
If you have purchased green plantains, you can speed up ripening by closing them in paper bags with some apples or kiwis: these fruits favor ripening. You can even peel the plantains, cut them into slices and freeze them!

Video of the Recipe

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Identity Card of the Recipe

• 122 KCal Calories per serving

• Ingrediants

  • 200 g (1 piece) of plantain

  Materials Needed

  • Knife
  • Chopping board
  • Optional: pot for steaming

  Preparation

  Please note
  The method of peeling the plantain depends on the degree of ripeness of the fruit.
  Based on the color of the peel you can understand the ripeness of the plane tree: for this, we propose three methods of peeling.

  1. PEEL THE UNERBIT PLATANO WITH THE KNIFE. Place the unripe plantain (the skin is green or yellow) on a cutting board and, with a knife, remove the ends of the fruit. Cut the peel lengthwise and on the surface, making cuts to obtain regular strips, a couple of centimeters wide. Tear off the strips with your hands, or use the blade of a knife, taking care not to remove the pulp. The peeled plantain must be cooked (eg boiled, steamed, fried, etc.) to be consumed. Very unripe plantains can be peeled by cutting the peel directly and deeply, or using a knife as a potato peeler!
  2. PEEL THE UNERBIT PLATANO WITH THE HEAT. Steaming or boiling can help us remove the skin from the plantain. In these cases, the unripe plantain is cooked with the peel to facilitate peeling. With a knife, remove the ends from the plantain.Make longitudinal cuts to obtain regular strips, then steam the plantain for 10 minutes or until the skin is soft. The peeled and steamed plantain can be baked, fried, or steamed until the pulp is soft.
  3. PEELING THE RIPE PLATANO (the fruit has a black or brown peel): remove the ends with a knife and tear the peel like a banana. Ripe plantains can also be eaten raw.

  Alice's comment - PersonalCooker

  Are you wondering where to buy it? The plane trees can be found in shops specializing in ethnic foods, in African markets and in large supermarkets. The cost is very low what are you waiting for? If you haven't tasted the plane tree yet, go and buy it!
  Try the recipe for the Sycamore Soup with Coconut Milk and the crispy Sycamore Chips!

  Nutritional values ​​and Health Comment on the recipe

  Plantain - or plantain banana or cooking banana - is a fruit very similar to the common banana.
  It can be eaten cooked as a dessert / cooked fruit or replace starchy foods.
  It has a significant energy supply, mainly covered by carbohydrates; compared to banana, it contains more starch and less water.
  Proteins and lipids are marginal.
  Cholesterol is absent and the fibers seem relevant.
  The plane tree is one of the most caloric fruits and must be used in smaller portions than the average.
  It does not contain gluten and lactose, which is why it lends itself to the diet for related intolerances. It is safely consumed by vegetarians and vegans.
  The average portion, when considered as a fruit, is about 100g (120 kcal). On the contrary, instead of potatoes, the portion should be reduced by about 30%.
  If it replaces cereals and dried legumes or flours, the portion can be 2-3 times higher.