Plantain's backstory
Plantains are not bananas! In my humanities class (food for Thought) our assignment was to research a food that has a significant importance to my family. I have chosen plantain. Although this is a popular food in South America It is very significant to both sides of my family. For this project we learned a lot about where certain foods originate from. We got to look at maps and old trade routes. Our class had the opportunity to go to Metropolis Coffee to learn how they get their coffee beans shipped in from all over the world. Although I really dislike coffee, I did like what Metropolis Coffee was doing. As I was researching plantains, I did find a lot of information on bananas. I feel bad for being completely oblivious with certain banana companies; specifically what is known as today the Chiquita company. This company was formerly known as the United Fruit Co. This company has caused lots of issues for many countries which is what we called “banana wars''. It is a more personal research however I wanted to include it here since everyone confuses bananas with Plantains. Another part of this AP was asking my family what their favorite foods were. I noticed small patterns; for example, people I haven't even met before share the same favorite food with me. My family tree was very big, so I had to narrow it down to the past three generations. For the family tree I decided to interview my grandma since she is in a different generation about the cooks in my family. I wanted to pick something that is in both families and I ended up with plantain. Here is a photo of my family tree. As you can see there are foods listed underneath the initials which is my family's favorite food.
Here is my script:
Good day! I’m plátano a.k.a Plantain! However since I grow in mostly south america I will be calling myself plátano.
I am very very very closely related to the banana which most people confuse me for. Although I technically am a part of the musca family I am slightly different. I am more bitter and starchier.
I come from southeast Asia mainly Papua New Guinea and today I am in a lot of grocery stores! I was discovered by Portuguese explorers.
I started growing wild until around 8000-9000 BCE I was domesticated.
From then on I started getting shipped by a boat with my very close relative (the banana). I went through the trade routes, specifically the one I mainly took was the silk road. I also traveled through Africa a lot to Portugal. This is how I spread across Europe. This boat made lots of stops and sometimes I even traveled over land! Since I am so close to the banana lots of people mistake me for them but I am not my sibling! I know Banana got into a lot of trouble in the past with the banana republic and I am sorry my family was ever involved with these bananagins. In the 16th/15th century I was moved to South America from Africa! Mostly the south part of Brazil. Lots of families use me as a part of their diet or a dessert since some parts of me are sweet but specifically the Luna and Rodriguez in Venezuela. This family uses me a lot especially during Christmas. Not only do they use me as a part of their diet but they also use my leafs to make hallacas. They make hallacas every Christmas as a family and boy is it a lot of work.What’s even more bananas is that this family eats me and my close relative (the banana) with almost every meal! I watched this family grow as I do with many other families. I watched one grow up and have a kid and that kid had a kid and so on. As they moved to America I followed them there too! My next stop was the Caribbean specifically around Puerto Rico/the Dominican Republic. I spread pretty quickly over there too. It had really great weather for me to grow and adapt there! Since then I have become a part of the diet in South America. A lot of people love me there since I can be cooked in many different ways. One popular way is to be fried.. That's a little scary for me but I will admit I look very delicious. Over the years I was traded and shipped to the Americans in 1804. Although I wasn’t very popular back then I definitely am now. By the 19th century I was popular with trade and that's when a significant industry emerged and I was spread all over the world. Thank you for listening!
sources/works cited:
Arcgis.com, www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=e275b96e5120481daed9b0ba533f9721.
“Plantain.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/plant/plantain#:~:text=Plantains%20are%20believed%20to%20have,the%20islands%20of%20the%20Pacific.
“Bananas and Plantains, Origins,History and Differences.” El Valle De Anton, Panama. El Valle the Volcanic Village. El Valle's History, Attractions and Information, 5 June 2015, elvalleinformation.wordpress.com/bananas-and-plantains/.
I am very very very closely related to the banana which most people confuse me for. Although I technically am a part of the musca family I am slightly different. I am more bitter and starchier.
I come from southeast Asia mainly Papua New Guinea and today I am in a lot of grocery stores! I was discovered by Portuguese explorers.
I started growing wild until around 8000-9000 BCE I was domesticated.
From then on I started getting shipped by a boat with my very close relative (the banana). I went through the trade routes, specifically the one I mainly took was the silk road. I also traveled through Africa a lot to Portugal. This is how I spread across Europe. This boat made lots of stops and sometimes I even traveled over land! Since I am so close to the banana lots of people mistake me for them but I am not my sibling! I know Banana got into a lot of trouble in the past with the banana republic and I am sorry my family was ever involved with these bananagins. In the 16th/15th century I was moved to South America from Africa! Mostly the south part of Brazil. Lots of families use me as a part of their diet or a dessert since some parts of me are sweet but specifically the Luna and Rodriguez in Venezuela. This family uses me a lot especially during Christmas. Not only do they use me as a part of their diet but they also use my leafs to make hallacas. They make hallacas every Christmas as a family and boy is it a lot of work.What’s even more bananas is that this family eats me and my close relative (the banana) with almost every meal! I watched this family grow as I do with many other families. I watched one grow up and have a kid and that kid had a kid and so on. As they moved to America I followed them there too! My next stop was the Caribbean specifically around Puerto Rico/the Dominican Republic. I spread pretty quickly over there too. It had really great weather for me to grow and adapt there! Since then I have become a part of the diet in South America. A lot of people love me there since I can be cooked in many different ways. One popular way is to be fried.. That's a little scary for me but I will admit I look very delicious. Over the years I was traded and shipped to the Americans in 1804. Although I wasn’t very popular back then I definitely am now. By the 19th century I was popular with trade and that's when a significant industry emerged and I was spread all over the world. Thank you for listening!
sources/works cited:
Arcgis.com, www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=e275b96e5120481daed9b0ba533f9721.
“Plantain.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/plant/plantain#:~:text=Plantains%20are%20believed%20to%20have,the%20islands%20of%20the%20Pacific.
“Bananas and Plantains, Origins,History and Differences.” El Valle De Anton, Panama. El Valle the Volcanic Village. El Valle's History, Attractions and Information, 5 June 2015, elvalleinformation.wordpress.com/bananas-and-plantains/.
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