[Sca-cooks] Plantains: Period for Old World?

[Judith Epstein]

On Sep 1, 2009, at 1:52 PM, otsisto wrote:

> Plantain are similar to bananas how would they have been exchanged  
> with
> potatoes?
>
> Wouldn't people go by taste then by starch? Does plantain taste like a
> potato? I have understood the in "Germany" that the potatoe replaced  
> the
> turnip in many dishes.
>
> De

That's the thing, plantains don't really have the sweetness that one  
associates with the more widely known Cavendish banana (what most US  
and Canadian folks tend to think of as the 'normal' banana). They've  
got a very faint banana taste, and yes, they do taste and feel a lot  
like potatoes.

Judith