Cooking Bajan Style: Plantain

A key staple in a Barbadian's diet is plantain. The plantain is a close relative to what we call the sweet banana. Plantains are physically different to bananas, as they are larger and longer in size. Like bananas, they flourish well under tropical moisture-rich, humid low-lying farmlands. When the plantain is ripe you can cook it in many different ways, some popular ways to cook plantain in Barbados would be to simply shallow fry it, bake it with cinnamon (one of my favourites), plantain fritters or have plantain wrapped in bacon- now who could resist that!

Health Benefits of Plantains

• Plantains contain more Vitamin A than bananas.100g fresh ripe plantains contain 37.5% of daily required levels of this vitamin. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A plays a vital role in the visual cycle, maintaining healthy mucus membranes, and enhancing skin complexion.
• Plantains contains 2.3g of dietary fiber per 100g. Adequate amounts of dietary fiber in the food help normal bowel movements, thereby reducing constipation problems.
• Plantains also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has a cardiac-protective role as well.
• Fresh plantains have more potassium than bananas. 100g of the plantain fruit provides 499 mg of potassium whereas 100g of bananas provide 358 mg of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help control heart rate and blood pressure, countering negative effects of sodium.
• As in bananas, plantains too are rich sources of B-complex vitamins, particularly high in vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine). Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role in the treatment of neuritis, anemia, and it decreases homocystine (one of the causative factors for coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels in the body. In addition, the fruit contains moderate levels of folates, niacin, riboflavin and thiamin.
• Fresh plantains have more vitamin C than bananas. 100 g provides 31% of daily required levels of this vitamin.