Cooking Bananas

food · plants · cooking

Not for snacking. Cooking bananas are much starchier and less sweet than regular bananas, so they taste way better when you fry, boil, or roast them instead of eating them raw.

Many names around the world. People call cooking bananas by different names like plantains or green bananas depending on where they live and which type they're using.

Come in different genetic types. Scientists sort cooking bananas into different groups based on their genetics, with names like AAB, AAA, ABB, and BBB, each with its own special qualities.

Island specialty bananas. Fe'i bananas from the Pacific Islands are cooked by roasting or boiling and are sometimes called mountain plantains, even though they come from a different family than other cooking bananas.

All descended from Musa. All modern cooking banana plants belong to a type called Musa × paradisiaca, which scientists use as the official scientific name for these special cooking varieties.