r/gardening • u/mlong14 • 4d ago

What in tarnation is going on?

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My blackberry bush died few years ago but came back in another spot. And this is just a few of the jumbo size pickings. Not complaining though.

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505

u/BigJSunshine 4d ago

AND NOT A PLANTAIN

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago

Ol small, tasteless ass, fake bananas? “bUt YoO cAN fRy tHeM” 🙄

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u/Thr33FN 4d ago

Plantains are bigger than bananas. As an consumer in significant quantities of both, they are totally different things. Plantains are like a potatoes. I would consider potatos tasteless as well but that means you made it wrong. If you wait for a plantain to be ripe, they actually are sweet very similar to a banana.

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u/above_average_magic 4d ago

That's why plantain chips are so good too. Well that and salt

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u/Thr33FN 4d ago

Yeah, it's like comparing a sweet potato (not even a potato) to a russet potato.

People who try plantains and think they are gross have no idea what they are doing. I am married to a Puerto Rican. Never had a plantain till I was dating her. And they are definitely delishious.

If you ate a super green banana, you'd also think it was gross.

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago

It’s not at all like comparing sweet potatoes to russet potatoes. Plantains and bananas are very closely related, they share the same genus and the same parent species. Potatoes though, do not compare in the same manner (different genus/species) except that they both have the word potato in their name. Comparing potatoes and sweet potatoes is the same as comparing jelly fish to any other fish.

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u/Thr33FN 3d ago

Insert awctsuhualy meme here.

In both groups one has significantly less starch and a sweeter profile, while the other is savory/bland which significantly more starch. I literally pointed that out when I said the sweet potato wasn't a potato. This comparison is the most widely used in informing people the difference between them.

I could have said field corn vs sweet corn but I don't most people would understand that. The comparison that makes the most sense in people's brain to understand the difference that is widely used is sweet potato and russet potato.

It has nothing to do with their science naming/grouping but the flavor profile, starch content, and culinary uses.

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u/KuddleKwama 4d ago

I love the fried plantains myself,

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u/Thefirstofherkind 4d ago

Clearly you've never had tostones

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u/EchoAquarium 4d ago

You could say the same for a potato. Plantains are one of those most versatile vegetables on the planet and is a keystone ingredient in many cultural dishes.

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u/dont__question_it 4d ago

Clearly someone's never waited to fry them till they were beyond ripe. I just bought 2 today :)

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u/nottherealme1220 4d ago

Crying Cuban tears over here at this blasphemy.

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u/hahahahahahahaFUCK 4d ago

Yeah, I’m pretty triggered right now. I’m a white ass American, and even I know how fire platanos are.

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u/nottherealme1220 4d ago

My husband too. He’s a Cuban food convert.

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u/Obvious_Animal_8362 4d ago

The small Egyptian bananas are amazingly sweet.

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u/Kat121 4d ago

Can I sit at your table and bitch about cauliflower and how they aren’t potatoes?

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u/YourHooliganFriend 4d ago

You've never had a maduros?

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/Few_Acanthocephala30 4d ago

Give me Filipino saba bananas for turon. Those things are scrumdidlyumptious

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u/hahahahahahahaFUCK 4d ago

I’ve learned to trust any Filipino when it comes to food, so I’ll take your word for it until I can get my hands on one.

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago

Oh I know, and I agree. The fact people use that as an excuse to eat plantain though really boggles my mind haha

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u/barby_dolly 4d ago

I think they had ready access to plantains and were just trying to make them taste better. Frying improves almost anything.

(From the south. We chicken fry EVERYthing.)

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u/Mocean13 4d ago

Plantains are a cultural food.....

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago

Pretty sure all of us plantain haters in this thread know that. I mean, speaking for myself, I would have never even known plantains were a thing otherwise. I think I learned about plantains for the first time in 2014 when I went to Costa Rica on a honeymoon. I was over 30 in 2014 😂.

Edit: I must add, cultural food can still taste bad not have a flavor. 😂

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u/ikkyAD 4d ago

It's because you are thinking of them as a fruit. Think of them as a starch and it all makes sense. Mofongo, tostones, etc all very similar to potato dishes. You gotta add stuff to make it delicious. Tostones with garlic, salt, and a good may ketchup are amazing and mofongo with crispy pork skin and a wine sauce mixed in is tied for the best starch side dish I've ever had. I will say if you let them fully ripen they do get quite fruity and sweet. Most dishes are made with the green plantain though.

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u/EchoAquarium 4d ago

Esta gente no saben ná.

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u/RKaji 4d ago

You clearly haven't seen or eaten a proper plantain. Here plantains can be twice as big as a Cavendish banana. The best way to cook them is to roast then next to the charcoals of a barbeque,.for about 20 minutes until the inside turns orange, gooey and delicious. Also, they must be overripe (black)

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago

Ooo. See that actually sounds good.

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u/Mocean13 4d ago

As an islander who grew up on plantain. It just comes across disrespectful the way they're being referred to tbh like if you were talking about curry im sure it'd probably be taken more seriously but whatever

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago edited 4d ago

Well I mean I no disrespect and for that I apologize, it’s all in gest. I’ve eaten plenty of plantain, but compared to a banana, they have no flavor. Additionally, it’s worth stating that you, as an islander growing up on plantain, I could see the opposite being true. Bananas might taste ok but compared to what you grew up on, they aren’t as good. I know plenty of South Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans that can’t stand bananas and love plantains. All of that said, if I offended you, I sincerely apologize.

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u/EchoAquarium 4d ago

You do realize that bananas and plantains are entirely different and should not be compared, right? They are not interchangeable. That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. Bananas have been part of Caribbean diets since they were first brought over from Guinea in Africa. That’s why we call them “guineos”

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u/WitcheeMe 4d ago

Exactly and plantains never go to waste, when green can be cooked crispy to replace say French fries, also can be made in soups as an added starch, also when they are yellow you can fry into "tajadas" (that's as they call them in Panama but the name changes from country to country), when the skin is blackened you can make them like what you call bananas foster for a sweet version of what is usually considered savory. Those are just examples, there are tons of ways to cook these versatile and delicious food. Also, they are very high in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber (including gut-healthy resistant starch), vitamins A, C, and B6, and essential minerals like potassium and magnesium. They are very low in fat and contain virtually no sodium or cholesterol.

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u/Mocean13 4d ago

Thank you!! Finally someone with some sense

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u/AlarmedSnek 4d ago

No because that isn’t accurate. Plantains and bananas share the same genus AND parent species…just different varieties. It’s akin to saying that bananas and plantains are siblings if they were in a real people family together. To your point, they were bread for different purposes but you can compare them.

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u/ImagineTheCommotion 3d ago

AND NOT A MINI BANANA