Plantains – They’re not Bananas!

You see them at the farmstand. They are what bananas might look like if they were genetically spliced with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Maybe they frighten you. Maybe you simply don’t know how to eat them. Let us help you.

Two fat bunches of yellow plantains await sale at the ARTfarm farmstand.
Plantains are a sweet vegetable in the banana family, delicious baked or fried, green or yellow. The yellower and riper they are, the sweeter they become. Like bananas, they come in many varieties, shapes and sizes.

Plantains are amazingly tasty cousins of bananas. They are starchier than bananas, so generally are much more palatable when cooked. Plantains can be eaten when the peel is green or yellow. The riper they become, the sweeter they are.

Sweeeeeet Yellow Fried Plantains

For sweet yellow plantains like the ones in this photo, we like them fried. Peel off their thick skin, slice them lengthwise into 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick pieces and fry them in a hot buttered pan, turning occasionally until they are nicely browned on both sides. These are insanely good as a snack or dessert. They hold together better than fried bananas. We challenge you not to eat them all at once.

Potatoey Green Plantains

For green plantains, you can bake, boil or roast them like potatoes. They are a very nutritious starch with plenty of fiber. They’ll be trickier to peel, so try cutting both ends off, making a slit lengthwise along the peel, and keep your hands wet as some kinds of green plantains can stain your fingers!

Tostones

You can also use plantains to make tostones, which are essentially plantain “chips.” To make tostones, you peel and slice the plantains into rounds, about 3/4″ thick, season them a bit, fry them in oil until just golden, drain and allow them to cool. Then smash them flat, and fry them again briefly to achieve crispiness.

Search the web for more detailed recipes on making plantains part of your healthy, local, Caribbean diet. Experiment, and tell us about the results on your next visit to the farmstand! Who needs potatoes?

ARTfarm stand open – 4:30-5:30pm today!

A bunch of beautiful ripe plantains at ARTfarm
Plantains are a sweet vegetable in the banana family, delicious baked or fried. These are particularly sweet.

Today we have LOTS of yummy salad options: young arugula (teen, baby), spicy salad mix, and microgreens! For healthy veggies and herbs, we’ve got asian water spinach, breadfruit, chives, basil, and lemongrass. To round out your vitamin intake we have jackfruit, mangoes, crazy sweet and yummy plantains, and eggfruit. Also back in action: a full range of Sweetface chocolate flavors including new ginger chili flavor, Feel I’s ice cream, local honey, and fresh local eggs.

If you don’t know what to do with plantain, breadfruit or eggfruit, see the articles on ARTfarm’s website for ideas!

ARTfarm Stand open this morning, lots of FRUITS!

ARTfarm on a cool and lovely Saturday morning features eight shades of green with a dash of orange: microgreens, teen arugula, asian water spinach, kale, basil, garlic chives, lemongrass, breadfruit, and the very last pumpkin of the season. We have fresh local eggs, too!

For sweet teeth today we’ve got lots of choices: pineapples, papaya, soursop, eggfruit, mangoes, Feel I’s ice cream in various flavors, local honey, and Sweetface chocolates.

We also have pineapple slips to grow-your-own pineapple, and a variety of species of native trees for sale!

Come out to the farmstand and lounge in the shade with us!

A wide angle shot from low shows the spiny leaves of pineapple plants against a blue Caribbean sky.
What a pineapple sees: view from the pineapple patch. Photo (c)2011 Ginger Lobb

Wednesday’s ARTfarm stand!

Today we are open 4:30 to 5:30pm offering the following goodies: sweet mix, micro arugula, microgreens, gorgeous mangoes from the encyclopaedic orchards of Irene Lawaetz, chives, basil, local honey, eggfruit, breadfruit and jackfruit!

Come out and say hi to Luca!