bananas

While bananas are just as prevalent as plantains, based on my family and my experiences here, I find plantains to be more of a staple food to people and the Tican culture. According to my family, bananas are normally a breakfast food, eaten as they are.  Plantains, on the other hand, are eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, cooked in many different ways.  In my family, we eat them as a side, or in soups, etc as sweet or savory. Based on the stage of ripeness and the particular variety of plantain, my Tica mom cooks them differently.

Bananas are an important fruit in Costa Rica because of the history they hold. As we have talked about before, bananas were tied with the national mythology of the “foreigner” or the “other”. However, more recently we have learned of the struggles that these workers faced in how they were treated under the UFCo, their working conditions, and in trying to combat the panama disease that took over the banana plantations. Despite this challenging history, I think that bananas hold importance because they are a major export for Costa Rican economy.  On the other hand, I feel that plantains signify more of everyday Tican culture.  When we think of traditional Tican foods, I right away think of plantains, not bananas.  Every casado includes plantains, every night we have plantains for dinner, and there are numerous recipes for plantains, served everywhere that serves traditional Tican food.

Bananas are sold everywhere, often in bunches, however, you can buy just a single banana if you wish. At every fruit or vegetable stand, there are always bananas and plantains; these are key foods of the Tican culture. I have seen every type-from green to brown, from small to large. I question the reason for the prevalence of overripe and bruised bananas/plantains. Is it because Ticans have the knowledge that these foods can be used in many different ways based on their period in the ripening process? Or, is it because the very best, most “perfect” looking bananas are exported to places like the US-where we must have them when they are just about to ripen, without any browning or bruises?

In the grocery store, all bananas are already ripe, beginnning to brown. There are never any green bananas as we see in the US, with the intention of the US consumer buying them and waiting a few day until it ripens to "perfection".