Plantains look like large, thick bananas but they taste completely different. A ripe banana is soft and sweet and you can eat it raw. A green plantain is firm, starchy and slightly bitter - it must be cooked before you can eat it. The same plantain, if left to ripen until very yellow or black, becomes sweet and can be fried into little caramelised slices called tostones or maduros.
To make mangú, green plantains are boiled until tender, then mashed with water and a knob of butter or a drizzle of olive oil until the mixture is very smooth. The topping of vinegary onions is called 'los tres golpes' when served alongside fried salami, fried cheese and fried eggs - the complete classic Dominican breakfast.
Plantains are grown all over the Dominican Republic and are used in many different ways throughout the day: as mangú for breakfast, as fried tostones with lunch, as sweet maduros with dinner, or even as plantain chips for a snack.
Plantains are full of potassium, fibre and complex carbohydrates, making them a nutritious and filling staple. They have fed Caribbean communities for hundreds of years and remain central to Dominican identity and pride.