Plantain (cooking)
Channel: wikipedia tts
Date: 2018-10-31

Cooking bananas are banana cultivars in the genus Musa whose fruits are generally used in cooking. They may be eaten ripe or unripe and are generally starchy. Many cooking bananas are referred to as plantains ( US: , UK: ) or green bananas, although not all of them are true plantains. Bananas are treated as a starchy fruit with a relatively neutral flavour and soft texture when cooked. Bananas fruit all year round, making them a reliable all-season staple food.
Cooking bananas are a major food staple in West and Central Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central America, and northern, coastal parts of South America. Members of the genus Musa are indigenous to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago (modern Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines) and Northern Australia. Africa is considered a second centre of diversity for Musa cultivars: West Africa for some plantains and the central highlands for East African Highland bananas (Musa AAA-EAHB; known as matoke in Uganda), most of which are cooked, although some are primarily used to make beer. 
The term "plantain" is loosely applied to any banana cultivar that is usually cooked before it is eaten. However, there is no botanical distinction between bananas and plantains. Cooking is also a matter of custom, rather than necessity, for many bananas. In fact, ripe plantains can be eaten raw since their starches are converted to sugars. In some countries, where only a few cultivars of banana are consumed, there may be a clear distinction between plantains and bananas. In other countries, where many cultivars are consumed, there is no distinction in the common names used.In botanical usage, the term "plantain" is used only for true plantains, while other starchy cultivars used for cooking are called "cooking bananas". All modern true plantains have three sets of chromosomes (i.e. they are triploid). Many are hybrids derived from the cross of two wild species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The currently accepted scientific name for all such crosses is Musa × paradisiaca. Using Simmonds and Shepherds' 1955 genome-based nomenclature system, cultivars which are cooked often belong to the AAB Group, although some (e.g. the East African Highland bananas) belong to the AAA Group, and others (e.g. Saba bananas) belong to the ABB Group.
Fe'i bananas (Musa × troglodytarum) from the Pacific Islands are often eaten roasted or boiled, and thus informally referred to as "mountain plantains." However, they do not belong to either of the two species that all modern banana cultivars are descended from.