The Plantain

Is one of my favorites foods.  I've been eating this fruit, since I was a little girl.  This is a typical food for many Latinos.  You could either eat them fried, boiled, or steamed.  My mother used to fried them all the time, but because I've changed my eating habits, I boiled them instead.  I go to a local Spanish supermarket around my house to get my the plantains.  They sell  them riped or green. The picture above shows (top to bottom) green, yellow, and riped.  The more riped they are, the sweeter they are.  The plantain is similar to the bananas, but people usually cook them in before eating them.  These plantains that I buy, come from Mexico and are owned by Chiquita Company. The are gown in a company owned plantation.  According to the  Chiquita banana's website, they state that within 36 hours of harvest, Chiquita Bananas and plantains are packed in special shipping cartons and loaded onto refrigerated ships. Refrigeration “puts the bananas to sleep” and temporarily prevents them from ripening. They're transported to market in refrigerated trucks. The whole process from the farm to your grocery store takes about two weeks.  Chiquita company are one of the few companies who are certified to the environmental standards of the Rainforest Alliance.  The are against deforestation and use low pesticide.  This seems like a good way of processing bananas and plantains, but I still think, that our environment suffers the consequence of the pollution of the ships and the truck drives to their destinations.  Like many major companies, Chiquita company makes a big profit from the distribution of plantains and bananas, because they could be grown all year round.  They have many locations around Central and South America and also in Mexico.  Others making a good profit are the local markets, who sell their plantains for almost 30% higher cost.  I went to different markets like; Dominick .98 cents each, La Fresquesita at .89cents each, Cermak produce .78cents each, Fresh Market at .78cents each.  It was obvious that the Spanish market's prices were the lowest and of course sell the most.  Plantains are very popular in the Latin communities, and it makes total sense for local food markets to play with their prices, because of the high demand.  Plantains, just like bananas are a good source of potassium, vitamin C, B6 and fiber.  There are many dishes that can be cooked with both ripe and green plantains.  Although they are starchy, they are healthy to eat as long as you don't fried them all the time!!! ;)