banana vs plátano

Question

I am confused as to how to properly refer to a banana. I'm pretty sure a plantain is a cousin of a banana that is cooked rather than eaten raw. However, the two seem to be used interchangeably. á

Answer 1

I wish the answer to your question was as simple as the question itself. The "proper" way to refer to a banana depends on what country you're in.

Read the following blog posts, they should help a little.

Banano-Banana-Guineo-Plátano

¿Tostones o los amarillos?

Answer 2

You are right. The plantain is a tropical fruit which has to be cooked or fried before eating. In English language, the two fruiits are not used interchangeably . However, the Spanish refer to a banana as plátano.

Answer 3

The Latin American market I go to sometimes for breakfast or lunch (great food and they speak very, very little English, so it's good practice) had what looked like tostones or maduros (fried plantains). I asked the girl, "Estos son platanos?" and she said, "No, son bananos."

Also, in Costa Rica and Honduras, the natives referred to the two fruits by the different names.

Point being, I don't think the two words are interchangeable in Latin American countries.

By the way, Rac1 you should go to this place. It's called Ideal Market (google it, they have a website). There are currently 3 locations, and they're building one or two new ones. - Winkfish, Dec 5, 2014