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What is the difference between the Plantino and the yellow bananas Chiquita sends to your supermarket?  Just as there are different types of tomatoes, there are different types of bananas also.  After all, we know that a beefstake tomato and a cherry tomato are both tomatoes, but they are not the same. 

For one thing, the platain banana is larger than the typical yellow banana you find in the common American food store.  Also, the banana is picked and cooked while it is still green.  Just like the other type of bananas, as it rippens and turns yellow, it becomes sweeter.  But in general it is less sweet and has a different texture than the Chiquita bananas I mentioned.  

The most common way of cooking the Platino in the Dominican Republic is to fry it in hot oil.  The banana is sliced, fried, then 
flatened before serving.  You can almost say the finished product is somewhat like a large, soft banana chip. That is the best way I can describe it.  Every Dominican supermarket sells what I can best call in English "the platino flattener".  This is made out of wood and is basically two large round spheres connected with a hinge.  This common device found in most Dominican kitchens is about the circumference of a large coffee mug - and it works perfectly.  

Dominicans like to serve platino frito as a side starch dish, in place of potatoes, which are commonly served in the US.  You will often find fried platains served with pork chops, fried salami (another unique dish in the Dominican Republic - similar to pork roll in the US) or sometimes an an addition to your Eggs for breakfast (in place of hashbrowns).  Some people may prefer to wait until the plantain is more yellow, for a sweeter taste, but the majority of people do cook it while it is still green. 
 

This is what Chiquita normally wants you to believe is a banana. 
Guinea bananas are much smaller than their cousin, the plantain. In addition, they tend to be on the sweeter side.   Dominicans do like guinea bananas also, but just like the plantain, it is cooked the say way - while it is still green. 

If you have traveled throughout Latin America, and have experienced the countries that cook with Platano Bananas, Mangu seems to be a dish that is truly Dominican.  I know what you are thinking ~ What in the world is Mangu?  

For starters, I can best describe it as our answer to the American dinner table equivalent of mashed potatoes.  Every Dominican household serves this dish as a starch complement to a meal, just like the potato. While every woman in the Dominican Republic knows to make this delicous side dish, each family may in fact have thier own variation of ingredients.    

Mangu is prepared by boiling green Platano bananas, and then mashing it with milk, spices and other ingredients.  Some people may add grated cheese or onions.  Others may serve it with butter.  Regardless of how it is made, it is the one true food that is undeniably Dominican. 

To learn how to prepare Mangu and many other wonderful Dominican dishes, please send me an email or purchase our Cooking With Caro Cookbook ~ all in English. 
 

Regards and Love from My Kitchen to Yours, 

Caro