Tostones vs Maduros: Pick the Plantain, Fry It Right

Tostones vs maduros: which one do your plantains want to be?

The peel decides. Tostones are made from green, firm, starchy plantains that are fried twice, smashed flat between the two fries, and salted, so they eat like a crisp potato. Maduros are made from ripe plantains with mostly black peels, sliced and fried once until the sugars caramelize, so they eat soft and sweet. Same fruit, same pan, opposite ends of its life.

A plantain is the large, firm cooking cousin of the dessert banana, and it does not behave like one: a green plantain is too hard to peel by hand.

How do you tell a green plantain from a ripe one at the store?

Dole's plantain page puts it simply: plantains "start off green before turning yellow and then finally black," and they get milder, softer and sweeter as they ripen. You can buy them at any of those stages. Here is how each stage reads in your hand:

• Green: solid green peel, hard all over, no give when pressed. This is the tostones plantain. The flesh is pale and starchy.
• Yellow, with some black spots: the in-between stage, with a little give. It makes a softer tostón or a firm, mild maduro, and neither is the best version of the dish.
• Mostly black: more black than yellow, and yielding to a gentle squeeze like a ripe avocado. This is the maduros plantain. Black is the goal here, not rot, as long as the fruit is not leaking, moldy or mushy at the ends.

If the store only has green and you want maduros, buy green and plan ahead. Dole advises storing plantains at room temperature to ripen and notes that warmer storage speeds the process. The same page warns: "Never store under 45 degrees as chill can occur - only fully ripe plantains with a black skin can be kept in the fridge." So green and yellow plantains stay on the counter, and the fridge is only for black ones you need to hold a little longer.

How do you peel a plantain?

For green plantains, Dole says "it is best to peel them with a knife." Cut off both ends, run a paring knife down the length of the peel along a ridge, just through the skin, then pry the peel off with your thumb. For yellow plantains, Dole says the skin "should be scored crosswise with the knife before peeling." Black peels usually come away once slit lengthwise.

Cut on a board with the plantain lying flat, never in your hand. A green plantain is dense and the knife has to push, which is when it slips.

How do you make tostones?

For two green plantains, which serves two to three people as a side:

1. Cut. Peel and slice into rounds about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Pat them dry with a towel.
2. Heat the oil. Pour a neutral oil into a heavy, deep skillet until it is about ½ inch (1.3 cm) deep. Heat over medium to about 325°F (163°C).
3. First fry. Fry the rounds in a single layer, without crowding, for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. You want them tender all the way through and pale gold, not browned. Lift them out onto a rack or paper towels.
4. Smash. While they are still warm, flatten each piece to about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick with the bottom of a heavy mug, a tostonera (a hinged wooden plantain press) or a tortilla press. If a piece cracks apart, it was not cooked through on the first fry; give the next batch a minute longer.
5. Second fry. Bring the oil up to about 350 to 375°F (177 to 191°C) and fry the flattened pieces for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until deep golden with crisp edges.
6. Salt. Drain and salt them immediately, while the surface is still glossy enough for salt to stick.

That double fry is the whole trick: the cooler first fry cooks the starch through, and the hotter second fry crisps the outside.

How do you fry sweet plantains (maduros)?

For two ripe, mostly black plantains:

1. Cut. Peel and slice on a sharp diagonal, about ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Longer, angled slices give you more surface to caramelize.
2. Heat the oil. Pour about ¼ inch (6 mm) of neutral oil into a skillet and heat over medium, to roughly 325 to 350°F (163 to 177°C). Maduros want gentler heat than the second tostones fry.
3. Fry once. Lay the slices in a single layer and fry for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deep amber with darker, almost mahogany edges.
4. Drain. Lift them onto a rack or paper towels. A pinch of salt is optional and works well.

Stay at the stove. The sugar that makes maduros good also takes them from amber to burnt fast. If a side darkens before the slice softens, turn the heat down.

How do you judge oil temperature without a thermometer?

A thermometer is the most reliable way. Without one, lower one small test slice of plantain into the oil:

• Too cold: it sinks and sits there with only a few lazy bubbles. Wait, or it will soak up oil.
• About right: it is surrounded immediately by a steady fizz of small bubbles and starts to color gently over the next minute or two.
• Too hot: it browns in seconds, or the oil is shimmering hard and starting to smoke. Turn the heat down.

The U.S. Fire Administration's cooking safety page is direct about that last case: "If you see any smoke or the grease starts to boil, turn the burner off." Let the oil cool before you continue.

How do you handle hot oil safely?

Hot frying oil causes serious burns and kitchen fires. These steps are not optional:

• Dry everything going into the oil. Water on the surface of the plantain makes hot oil spatter. Pat the slices dry.
• Lower food in, do not drop it. Use a slotted spoon or tongs, and lay each piece in moving away from you.
• Keep the oil shallow. The ½ inch and ¼ inch depths above are deliberate. Never fill a skillet near the rim.
• Stay with the pan. Do not leave the kitchen while oil is on a lit burner. Keep children and pets away from the stove.
• Turn the handle in. The U.S. Fire Administration says: "Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so that no one can bump them or pull them over."
• Have a lid ready before you start. The same page says: "Keep a pan lid or baking sheet nearby."

If the oil catches fire, guidance the Cambridge Fire Department attributes to the NFPA is: "If a small grease fire starts in a pan, smother the flames by sliding the lid over the pan." Then: "Turn off the burner. Do not move the pan." Leave the lid on until the pan has cooled. Never pour water on a grease fire. If the fire is not small or is spreading, get out and call 911 from a safe place. Any serious burn needs medical attention.

When you are done, let the oil cool completely in the pan before you strain it or move it.

Which one goes with black beans and mojo pork?

Both, and plenty of tables serve both. They do different jobs:

• Tostones are the crunchy, salty side. They work like fries next to roast pork and are sturdy enough to scoop up garlic-citrus mojo or a spoonful of beans.
• Maduros are the sweet contrast. Their caramel softness balances salty, savory food, which is why they sit so naturally beside black beans, white rice and citrusy roast pork.

If you can only make one, choose by what is on your counter: the fruit has already decided. For more dishes to build the plate around, browse the Latin recipes collection or the kitchen technique guides; and if you want a different starch on the table, arepas made with precooked cornmeal fry up in the same skillet.

Can you make tostones with yellow plantains, or maduros with green ones?

Tostones from yellow plantains work, but they come out softer and sweeter and brown faster on the second fry. Maduros from green plantains do not work: there is not enough sugar to caramelize, and the slices stay starchy and dry. Green and you want sweet? Wait. Black and you want crunch? Make maduros now and buy green ones for next time.

Sources

• Dole: Plantains
• U.S. Fire Administration: Cooking safety
• Cambridge Fire Department: Cooking fire safety tips