Think of it as a “cooking” banana. They are a major food staple in Africa, the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America. The main differences between regular banana and plantains is their size and starch content. Plantains tend to be twice the size of a regular banana and they contain more starch, which makes them appropriate for cooking. Their savory or sweet taste depends on their stage of ripeness with green varieties being more starchy like a potato and ripe plantains having more sweetness to them similar to a banana.