Short, square, and fat, Cardaba bananas are known in Barbados and much of the Eastern Caribbean as buffit. In Guyana, they are called square plantains, 4-corner plantain and tuk tuk. The Cardaba is grown primarily as a cooking banana. I first came across buffit about a decade ago and buy it regularly whenever I see it available in the market here in Barbados, which was as recent as last week Saturday.
I’ve been wanting to share with you for a long time now, my experience cooking and eating buffit but could not find anyone who was familiar with it. And I did not want to write to encourage you to try something that you do not have access to. A Guyanese friend over here told me that he had only heard of buffit being called 4-corner plantain. But this week, 2 friends on Facebook, who are prolific cooks, and big promoters of Guyanese ingredients and food, told me excitedly about their love of buffit. One of them actually harvested a bunch of it this week from his yard! As we chatted about the ways in which we cook and enjoy buffit, one thing that was clear is that is it not often seen in the markets in Guyana. It is not widely grown because people do not have an appetite for it, preferring regular plantains.
Buffit gets its colloquial square plantain and 4-corner name because of its shape; It is square with straight sides.
Unlike plantains which are flavourful in their various stages from green to fully ripe, buffit is bland. However, it is its blandness, its blank canvas that easily and readily absorbs flavours; therefore, the use of herbs, spices, and pastes pair well when cooking buffit. The thing that my friends and I find truly outstanding about buffit is its texture when cooked. Let me step back a bit. One of the reasons I love green plantains is that I enjoy them cooked in the style of boil ‘n fry, and also fried like fries (think French Fries). However, when cooled, the cooked green plantains tend to get hard, firm. Not so with buffit, the texture when cooked regardless of how it prepared is remains tender. You have got to try it. Ask about it from your plantain or ground provision vendor. As more people ask and demand, farmers will be encouraged to grow buffit/square plantain, whatever you want to call it. I think you stand a better chance of finding it at one of the markets in the country areas. One of my friends saw it at Port Mourant Market.
Speaking about markets in the country. Seriously, take some time, or rather, make time to go for a nice long drive to the countryside and visit the markets, you will be amazed at the variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, seafood, meats, cooked foods and snacks that you will find and discover. Things that you would never see at the markets in town. Something this simple – in Georgetown, rare is the occasion that you see purple-head shallots, only the white ones, in the country areas, most of the shallots are the purple-head ones.
Given that buffit is grown as a cooking banana, it is used in the Caribbean in soups, rundown and oil down dishes which are similar to Guyanese Metemgee or simply boiled to be eaten with other ground provisions as dry food served with salt fish or salt meats. The Cardaba banana is important to Filipino cuisine; it is used in sweet and savoury dishes. There is a big industry in the Philippines of the green Cardaba bananas processed as chips (similar to plantain chips).
While called banana, rarely is buffit eaten raw. When ripe, it is fried just as we would fry ripe plantains or be cooked in some way to make a dessert.
Buffit has a thicker skin than plantain and when peeled the flesh is white; when cooked, the flesh is opaque. It does not produce any of the milk that stains as plantains do, particularly green plantains; and it cooks up much quicker than plantains. Cook and use buffit the same way you would green, turning, or ripe plantains. Oh, it is great for mashing, because of its tenderness when cooked. Here’s the other thing, if you like cooked green bananas, then be prepared to love buffit because it can be prepared the same way. You should also try it in a salad – replace the English potatoes with buffit.
I hope the lady I usually get buffit from has again this week. Over here you do not see it regularly (as in weekly) and not all vendors sell it. The woman I get mine from grows it.
Cynthia
cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
