What do bananas taste like?

Have you ever wandered through the fresh fruit aisle and a random huge banana caught your eye?

Well, it’s probably not a banana, but a banana!

These fruits are very similar and bananas are becoming easier to find in your grocery store; however, many people still don’t really know what they are.

What do bananas taste like? Plantains are starchier than plantains and taste less sweet and more savory. Plantains look similar to plantains, but are, on average, larger than their dessert counterparts.

In today’s article, we’ll take a look at what exactly bananas are and how they compare to regular bananas.

We will also talk about the difference in size, color, taste, smell and, of course, the different ways of preparing and cooking them.

What are bananas?

Before starting to talk about the characteristics of bananas, it is important to know that this term has two meanings.

First, it is used to describe “true bananas” , which refers to the species or variety of the fruit. The second way the term is used is to describe any type of plantain or banana fruit that is cooked before being eaten.

The main problem with the second way of using it is that literally all types of plantains and bananas can be cooked, but true plantains, the species we are referring to, have to be cooked to be edible.

They are very different from other banana species, so one should not generalize.

To avoid any confusion, many people refer to this specific fruit as “plantain” or “true plantain” (regardless of whether it is cooked or not) and “cooking plantains” as a way of describing any other starchy plantain cultivar that is cook.

“Plátanos” usually refers to regular plantains or cooking plantains that are not cooked. “Dessert bananas” refer to sweet bananas that are extremely low in starch content compared to “cooking bananas.”

Plant

True bananas are a type of fruit in the genus Musa. This genus is one of three that produce plantains and bananas from flowering plants.

Believe it or not, there are up to 70 different species and varieties of Musa (plantains and bananas)!

These true bananas are divided into four categories based on the type of bunch they have. It’s not important to know the different clusters, unless you want very specific flavors and, in fact, have access to all of them.

The banana is found mostly in the countries of West and Central Africa, in Central and North America, in some parts of Southeast Asia and on the Caribbean islands.

It is actually considered a staple in many parts of the planet and has only recently caught the attention of the rest of the world.

Like most other banana species, plantains can also be found almost all year round and are often exported to other countries.

physical characteristics

The physical appearance of bananas, regardless of the species, differs depending on their maturity.

Green bananas are also called unripe bananas. The yellow plantains are the ripe ones, while the black ones are the overripe ones.

They each naturally have different textures and flavors due to their ripeness, but they are also used in very different ways, which we will get to yet.

Bananas are best recognized by their enormous size and are noticeably larger than your store-bought (or even organic) banana. They have a very tough skin that must be removed and is inedible.

Banana pulp is also much harder, so plantains cannot be eaten raw and must be cooked.

taste and smell

Bananas are naturally starchy and do not contain much sugar. Green plantains (unripe plantains) are not sweet at all. They have a very hard and firm texture and very little aroma.

As the banana fruit begins to ripen to yellow, flavors and odors develop with it. Bananas soften in texture and become slightly sweeter. You will also begin to smell more like a banana.

When bananas start to turn brown and eventually black, that’s when they’re at their sweetest.

Bananas become very soft, sometimes even mushy, and have a very sweet taste and a strong banana smell. Even so, you must cook the plantain before eating it.

Once cooked, this sweetness is further enhanced and acquires a banana-like flavor.

banana uses

As we have mentioned, ripe plantains are easy to peel despite their thick skin, however, unripe green plantains can be difficult.

Start by cutting the two ends of the banana and making a cut in the peel from end to end. Then remove all the skin from the fruit and discard it.

Once the bananas have been peeled, depending on the use you want to give them, you can continue cutting the fruit and following the instructions in the recipe.

Ripe yellow or black plantains can be mashed or pureed and incorporated into recipes just like that.

Green plantains should not be blended and are best suited for grilled plantain chips, fried slices, and other recipes where the fruit is used as is.

This is solely due to the stiff texture and less sweet taste. However, you can boil and then blend unripe plantains, it just takes more work and time.

Ripe bananas can be blended and incorporated into smoothies, cake batters, cupcakes, waffles, and much more. You can also use it as a flavoring ingredient for rice dishes, pasta, custards, and much more.

In general, you can cook plantains pretty much like you would potatoes or onions. You can roast them, fry them, sauté them, use them in baked goods, and even boil or steam them.

Here are some delicious banana recipe ideas you can try. You can also look for some traditional plantain dishes and get inspired by them.

• Grilled Plantain Slices
• Crispy Fried Plantain Chips
• Banana bread
• Banana fritters with caramel sauce
• Caribbean Banana Curry
• Venezuelan sweet plantains

Bananas vs. Plantains: What’s the Difference?

Okay, now that we’ve talked about bananas and made it clear that they’re not bananas, what exactly is the difference? To help explain it, we can look at other categories of fruit.

For example, citrus. Citrus is a genus of fruit (like Musa) and contains many different species, such as grapefruits, kumquats, and tangerines.

Within the species, there are several varieties of grapefruit, such as the Ruby Red grapefruit, the Marsh grapefruit, the Ruby Star grapefruit, and the HB Pummelo grapefruit, to name a few.

Plantains and bananas work exactly the same. Both are fruits and belong to the genus Musa.

The main difference between plantains and bananas is that they are different species. Each of these species also has different varieties.

Comparison of plantains and bananas

Bananas are much larger and heavier than table bananas. Obviously, the sizes of each vary, but on average, a regular or dessert banana ranges from 5-7 inches (12.7 - 17.7 cm).

The average size of a banana ranges from 11-13 inches (27.9 - 33 cm) in length, almost twice as big!

Plantains also have a much firmer texture and are much more difficult to peel. Unripe green plantains have to be peeled with a knife, unlike unripe green dessert bananas.

Regarding their ripening color and their physical changes, both are very similar. Both table plantains and green plantains start out green and very immature. They gradually soften and turn yellow, then brown, then black.

Table plantains are much sweeter, less starchy, and highly aromatic than plantains. Only extremely ripe, almost black bananas have a semi-sweet flavor.

Its texture, however, despite having softened, will still be very starchy.

Dessert plantains can be eaten raw or cooked, while plantains have to be cooked to be edible, or at least palatable.

If we look at their different nutritional qualities, these two are almost the same.  Both are very good sources of nutrients like potassium, vitamin C, magnesium, and a ton of antioxidants.

They also have the same number of calories, between 89 and 120 per 100 grams.

The main difference is the origin of the carbohydrates. Bananas get their carbohydrates from their sugar, while bananas get them from their starch.