ENTRY: banana-da-terra
CLASS: noun
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Musa paradisiaca
EQUIVALENT: plantain
DEFINITION: Large and starchy variety of banana consumed cooked, fried or baked, especially in the North and Northeast.
EXAMPLE: When the plantains are golden, remove the chips and drain on absorbent paper.
SOURCE: Brazil: a Culinary Journey
COMMENT: Also called ‘cooking bananas’, the term plantain refers to different kinds of bananas which are not cultivated and not eaten raw. They can be used at every stage of ripeness for diverse results. When green, the flesh is very firm and starchy, almost like a potato. When riper, the fruit is softer and sweeter, but still starchy. Plantains are used for the preparation of both sweet and savory dishes and bring a soft sweetness and plenty of starch to stews such as moqueca and barreado, and along with manioc flour it can be transformed into farofa. They can also be eaten simply fried and salted or sweetened, or thinly sliced and fried as chips.
CLUSTERS: ripe/green plantains; mashed plantains; plantains, peeled