Plantains are an interesting food.  They look like big, angular bananas, and that’s because they pretty much are.  The two are very closely related.  The main difference is that plantains are large and starchy, and therefore best eaten after being cooked, while bananas are smaller and sugary, and often eaten raw.  Flavor-wise plantains are actually more similar to potatoes than bananas.  In fact fried plantains (tostones) are pretty much just the best French fry you’ll ever have.  The first time you eat plantains it can be hard to get over the idea that it’s’ going to taste like a banana.  But once you do you’ll want to eat all the plantains.

The comparison of plantains to potatoes continues, since this snack report is about Turbana Plantain Chips.

Plantain chips are made pretty much the same way as potato chips: peeled, sliced thin, fried in oil, and lightly salted.  I found these at the grocery store the other day and was excited to try them, since as previously mentioned, fried plantains are awesome.  I’d bought a bag of plantain chips before, but was kind of disappointed.  Luckily these made up for that first plantain chip experience.  Crispness wise they’re similar to kettle-cooked potato chips.  Flavor wise they taste like, well, plantain chips.  It’s hard to describe what plantains taste like to people who haven’t tasted them before.  They taste mostly like potatoes, with a slight sweetness to them (but not like sweet potatoes).  They were nicely salted without being too salty, or under-seasoned.

These chips are little, but tasty and a good snack.  They’re good to just have on their own, but also a good accompaniment to a sandwich.  Pretty much anything you would have potato chips with you can have plantain chips with.  Bonus: plantains are a good source of fiber, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin B.  One of the best things is the price.  They’re only 99 cents a bag.  At first I was skeptical because the bag is a bit small, but it’s packed with a bunch of chips.  It took me about 3 servings to finish the bag.

 Would I recommend Turbana Plantain Chips?  Yes!