Plantains

Large, starchy banana-like fruits of Musa species that are cooked rather than eaten raw, serving as a staple carbohydrate across tropical Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Harvested green and used at different ripeness stages for boiling, frying, roasting, or pounding, they provide energy, potassium, vitamin A precursors, and resistant starch. Processors turn them into chips, flour, and doughs such as fufu, where frying temperature and moisture control decide crispness and oil uptake. Post-harvest handling focuses on careful transport to avoid bruising and on storage that slows over-ripening before processing.