Editing Cooking banana (section)

{{Short description|Banana cultivars commonly used in cooking}}
{{About|banana cultivars commonly used cooked|true botanical plantains|true plantains}}{{refimprove|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox cultivar
| name          = Cooking bananas
| image         = Mega racimos de guineos.jpg
| image_alt     = Large plaintains labeled for sale with stickers reading "BANACOL #4235 COLOMBIA", sold in Norway in what appears to be a [[cardboard box]].
| image_caption = Large bunch of green bananas 
| image_size    = 200px
| genus         = ''[[Musa (genus)|Musa]]''
| species       = ''Musa'' × ''paradisiaca''
| hybrid        = ''[[Musa acuminata|M. acuminata]]'' × ''[[Musa balbisiana|M. balbisiana]]''
| group         = Cultivars from a number of groups, including the [[List of banana cultivars#AAA Group|AAA Group]], the [[List of banana cultivars#AAB Group|AAB Group]] and the [[List of banana cultivars#ABB Group|ABB Group]]
| origin        = [[Southeast Asia]]<ref name=":22"/>
}}
'''Cooking bananas'''<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOgyAwAAQBAJ|title=Handbook on Agriculture, Biotechnology and Development|last1=Smyth|first1=Stuart J.|last2=Phillips|first2=Peter W. B.|last3=Castle|first3=David|date=2014-03-28|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-0-85793-835-0|location=[[Cheltenham]], UK|pages=107|language=en|doi=10.4337/9780857938350}}</ref> are a group of [[banana]] [[cultivar]]s in the [[genus]] ''[[Musa (genus)|Musa]]'' whose fruits are generally used in [[cooking]]. They are not eaten raw and are generally [[starch]]y.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web |title=Plantain {{!}} Description, Uses, History, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/plantain |access-date=2021-10-03 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> Many cooking bananas are referred to as '''plantains''' or '[[green banana]]s'. In [[botanical]] usage, the term "plantain" is used only for [[true plantains]], while other starchy cultivars used for cooking are called "cooking bananas". True plantains are cooking cultivars belonging to the AAB group, while cooking bananas are any cooking cultivar belonging to the [[List of banana cultivars|AAB, AAA, ABB, or BBB groups]]. The currently accepted scientific name for all such cultivars in these groups is [[Musa × paradisiaca|''Musa'' × ''paradisiaca'']].<ref name=":42">{{cite book |last1=Molina |first1=A. B. |last2=Roa |first2=V. N. |title=Advancing Banana and Plantain R and D in Asia and the Pacific |date=2000 |publisher=Bioversity International |isbn=978-971-91751-3-1 |pages=55–60 }}</ref> [[Fe'i banana]]s (''Musa'' × ''troglodytarum'') from the Pacific Islands are often eaten roasted or boiled, and are thus informally referred to as "mountain plantains", but they do not belong to any of the species from which all modern banana cultivars are descended.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Ortiz |first1=R. |title=Banana and plantain breeding |date=1995 |work=Bananas and Plantains |pages=110–146 |editor-last=Gowen |editor-first=S. |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0737-2_5 |access-date=2024-03-12 |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-94-011-0737-2_5 |isbn=978-94-011-0737-2 |last2=Ferris |first2=R. S. B. |last3=Vuylsteke |first3=D. R.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Cooking bananas are a major food staple in West and Central Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central America, and northern South America.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Otegbayo |first1=B. |last2=Lana |first2=O. |last3=Ibitoye |first3=W. |title=Isolation and physicochemical characterization of starches isolated from plantain (Musa paradisiaca) and cooking banana (Musa sapientum) |journal=Journal of Food Biochemistry |date=December 2010 |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=1303–1318 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-4514.2010.00354.x |doi-access=free }}</ref> Members of the genus ''Musa'' are indigenous to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Roux |first1=Nicolas |title=Genomics of Banana and Plantain (Musa spp.), Major Staple Crops in the Tropics |date=2008 |work=Genomics of Tropical Crop Plants |pages=83–111 |editor-last=Moore |editor-first=Paul H. |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71219-2_4 |access-date=2024-03-12 |place=New York, NY |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-71219-2_4 |isbn=978-0-387-71219-2 |last2=Baurens |first2=Franc-Christophe |last3=Doležel |first3=Jaroslav |last4=Hřibová |first4=Eva |last5=Heslop-Harrison |first5=Pat |last6=Town |first6=Chris |last7=Sasaki |first7=Takuji |last8=Matsumoto |first8=Takashi |last9=Aert |first9=Rita |editor2-last=Ming |editor2-first=Ray|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Bananas fruit all year round, making them a reliable all-season staple food.<ref name="Pillay Tenkouano 2011 p. 22">{{cite book | last1=Pillay | first1=M. | last2=Tenkouano | first2=A. | title=Banana Breeding: Progress and Challenges | publisher=CRC Press | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-4398-0018-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l191eUt9FSUC&pg=PA22 | access-date=2022-06-07 | page=22}}</ref>

Cooking bananas are treated as a starchy fruit with a relatively neutral flavor and soft texture when cooked. Cooking bananas may be eaten raw; however, they are most commonly prepared either fried, boiled, or processed into flour or dough.<ref name=":22"/>

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