Pan-Fried Sweet Plantains | Authentic Recipe For Puerto Rican Maduros! (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between sweet plantains and maduros? ›

Maduros or "plátanos maduros" are simply sweet ripe plantains! As a plantain ripens, the starch it contains gets converted into sugar, making ripe plantains much softer and sweeter than unripe green plantains. Maduros are easier to peel and act more like "dessert bananas" (the bananas you're used to eating).

Plantains, like bananas, start out very firm and ripe and slowly turn yellow and then brown. When you want to make plátanos maduros, you need to wait until they are fully brown.

You need to soak them in salted water first to flavor them as well as extract some of the "free starch" as another another person mentioned. You also cut the plantains too thick. When frying like this, they will come out crispy if thinly sliced but will be hard if the plantain is too thick.

Thanks to trade many, many years ago, the plantain arrived in Puerto Rico. One of the best and easiest ways to cook plantain is to fry it in a bit of vegetable oil. Some of these fried plantains are called “Tostones,” and others are called “Amarillos.” It depends on how ripe the plantain was at the time of cooking.

If you think yours are too starchy then you're not letting them ripen enough, and they don't have enough sugars in them. Try putting them in a paper bag with an apple to speed the ripening process, and when the skin is completely black and the flesh is a bit soft, slice them 1/2 inch thick, and fry in hot oil.

Plantains are a carb-rich food and a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also contain antioxidants that fight free radicals. With good levels of vitamin C, they can also support immune function. Likewise, their vitamin B6 content may reduce cardiovascular risk and improve mood.

Color of the peel is not always enough to tell a ripe plátano; it could be solid black but still not ripe enough (this will happen if you stored them in the fridge). If the plátano is not sweet enough on its own to eat it raw because it's too starchy, then it's not ripe no matter what it looks like.

Why are my fried plantains hard? Two reasons: They may have been cooked too fast, so you need to cook them on a lower temperature for a longer time. Or, you used unripe plantains.

Cook Plantains On Lower Heat To Ensure No Burnt Flavor

The fruit needs only a few minutes on each side until the outside hits an appealing golden-brown color. Anything darker and the result will be too dry; anything less, and the plantains will remain hard.

Olayinka explained that while you could salt them after they cook, she prefers to salt them beforehand because the plantains are stickier when they're raw. Thus, the flavor of the salt is much more likely to be infused into the plantains — allowing them to be as tasty as possible.

Which method of frying is better when frying plantain? ›

Tips for Making Delicious Fried Plantains

The Right Pan—A ripe plantain has a high sugar content, and since sugar burns quickly and sticks, a nonstick skillet is the best choice for the job. Another benefit of using a nonstick skillet is that the cooked plantain will release easily from the pan.

The darker/heavily spotted your plantains are, the sweeter they will be. Oil– I use vegetable oil for pan frying but any neutral oil will do the trick. Flavorless/neutral oils include canola, avocado, and grapeseed oil. While I grew up on frying them in oil, you can also fry plantains in butter as well!

In English we call it plantain. In places like Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Colombia, among others, this fruit is known as plátano, yes, the same word for banana in Spain, México, etc. There, by the way, the plantain used for cooking is usually known as plátano macho.

Fried Plantains to Enjoy (in Moderation)

But since fried plantains are usually fried in lots of oil, the amount of added fat (and oftentimes salt) makes them a less healthy option than baked plantains, especially for people who are watching their fat and sodium intakes.

If you had no idea what maduros or tostones were and you blind tasted them, the most obvious difference in flavor would probably be the sweetness. Because maduros are made with extra ripe plantains — after the starch has turned to sugar — there's really no comparison with the under-ripe green plantains of tostones.

A true plate of maduros is made with plantains that are as black as night, well beyond their prime and getting close to spoiled territory. At this point, most of the plantain's starches have been converted into sugar, so the flesh is as sweet as it can possibly get.

The word maduro means mature in Spanish, which is a reference to how ripe the plantain is that's used to make maduros.

Ripe plantain is definitely better for frying. “Ripe” for plantain usually means yellow with a soft texture but not too soft (as shown in picture below). If plantain becomes too ripe, the skin becomes dark and its loses its firmness and produces a mash when fried-it also tends to get too sweet when overripe.

RIPE (YELLOW) PLANTAINS

As the peel changes to brown or black, it has a sweeter flavor and more of a banana aroma, but still keeps a firm shape when cooked.