Prep & Assembly

Plantain Pressing

Flattening par-fried plantain rounds before a second fry to make crisp tostones.

Plantain pressing flattens partially fried green plantain pieces with a tostonera, a plate, or the heel of a hand before frying them a second time. This smashing-and-double-frying method produces tostones or patacones, crisp on the outside and tender within. The first fry softens the starch so the rounds can be pressed without breaking. A quick salt-water dip before the second fry boosts crispness.

Plantain pressing is the two-stage technique that turns dense, starchy green plantains into the crackling golden discs known across Latin America and the Caribbean as tostones, patacones, and their many regional kin. The method hinges on a par-fry that softens the fruit's starch, a mechanical press that flattens each round into a thin disc, and a second, hotter fry that crisps that expanded surface. The result is a piece that shatters audibly on the bite while staying tender inside — a textural contrast that raw green plantain simply cannot deliver.

What makes the technique work is the interplay between starch and heat. Green plantain is almost all starch and very little sugar; a single hot fry would either leave the interior chalky or burn the exterior before the center cooks. The first, gentler fry gelatinizes the interior starch so it accepts a clean press without crumbling, while the press itself expands the surface area exposed to oil. The second, hotter fry then drives off surface moisture quickly enough to set a brittle crust before the interior dries out.

Cooks across the region approach the press with different tools and slightly different geometries — from the tostonera (a hinged wooden or metal plantain press) to a flat-bottomed glass, a tortilla press, or the base of a heavy pan — but the underlying logic is identical. Understanding that logic frees you from any single tool and from any single regional interpretation; once you have internalized the par-fry, press, and crisping sequence, you can produce tostones, patacones, and even the yuca frita and pressed green-banana preparations that follow the same pattern.

Difficulty: Medium

Types & varieties

Tostones

Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican version; bias-cut, smashed to about ½ in, twice-fried, finished with coarse salt.

Patacones

Colombian, Ecuadorian, Panamanian, and Venezuelan; pressed thinner than tostones, sometimes fried a third time, occasionally cupped to hold ceviche or hogao.

Bannann Peze

Haitian rendition; rounds are often marinated in a spiced garlic and scotch-bonnet brine before the first fry.

Plátanos Chatinos

Oaxacan version; pressed green plantains fried until very crisp and seasoned with salt, sometimes chile.

Chicharritas de Plátano

Central American variant pressed very thin and fried until brittle — closer to a chip than a typical tostone.

How to do it

1
Select and peel green plantains
Choose plantains that are entirely green with no yellow. Slice off the ends, stand the plantain on end, and make a shallow lengthwise cut through just the skin. Pry the skin off with your thumb or the back of a knife; the peel should release cleanly when the plantain is fully unripe.
2
Cut into thick rounds
Slice the peeled plantain on a sharp bias into rounds 2.5–4 cm (1–1.5 in) thick. Bias cuts give more surface area to crisp and are easier to flatten without splitting.
3
First fry (par-fry)
Heat 1–2 cm of neutral oil in a heavy skillet to 160–175 °C / 325–350 °F. Fry the rounds in a single layer, 2–3 minutes per side, until they are pale, slightly translucent at the edges, and tender when pierced with a skewer — but not browned. Drain on a rack.
4
Rest briefly
Let the par-fried rounds rest 30–60 seconds on the rack. The interior sets up just enough to accept a press without disintegrating.
5
Press flat
Place a round between two pieces of parchment paper (or a folded piece of plastic). Center it on a tostonera, the bottom of a flat glass, a tortilla press, or a cutting board under a heavy pan. Press straight down with firm, even pressure until the round is an even disc about 6–12 mm (¼–½ in) thick. Do not twist.
6
Second fry (crisp)
Raise the oil to 175–190 °C / 350–375 °F. Fry the pressed discs 1–2 minutes per side until deeply golden and crackling. Work in batches so the oil temperature holds.
7
Drain and season
Lift the tostones out and return them briefly to a wire rack set over a tray to shed excess oil. Season immediately with coarse salt while the surface is still oily. Serve hot, with mojo, garlic oil, or a simple dip.

The science behind the double fry

The two-stage fry is not a folkloric quirk; it solves three problems at once. Green plantain starch gelatinizes near 70 °C / 160 °F, so the first, lower-temperature fry softens the interior enough for the round to deform plastically under the press rather than fracture. The press then roughly doubles the surface area, which is what allows a genuinely crisp crust to develop — a thick fried plantain disc simply steams inside its own skin. Finally, the hotter second fry flashes that expanded surface to a brittle golden crust in under two minutes per side, fast enough that the interior stays creamy rather than drying out. Skip the rest between fries and the rounds can split under the press; skip the press altogether and you will have fried plantain, not tostones.

A family of smashing techniques

Plantain pressing belongs to a wider family of press-and-fry methods used across the tropics for starchy tubers and unripe fruits. The same par-cook, flatten, crisp-fry logic appears in yuca frita — where par-boiled cassava is pressed thin and fried — and in pressed green-banana preparations found in parts of Southeast Asia. Once you understand the sequence, you can adapt it to any starchy, low-moisture ingredient that needs to be made both edible and crisp.

Common uses

Side dish for rice and beans, stews, and roasted meatsBase for appetizers — topped with ceviche, pico de gallo, or guacamoleSnack with mojo de ajo, garlic oil, or simple saltStand-in for bread in the Puerto Rican jibarito sandwichCrushed again after the second fry as the binding starch in mofongo

Tips & pitfalls

Use only fully green plantains — any yellow means more sugar and a gummy interior after pressing.
Score the peel lengthwise through just the skin before removing; green plantain skin sticks and tears if you try to peel it cold.
Salt the rounds generously before the first fry so seasoning penetrates the starchy interior, then season again the moment they come out of the second fry.
Let par-fried rounds rest 30–60 seconds before pressing — pressing immediately can cause splitting.
Press between two pieces of parchment paper or a sheet of plastic so the plantain does not stick to the tool.
Apply firm, even pressure straight down; twist and the round will tear. Aim for an even disc about 6–12 mm thick.
Bring the second-fry oil up to temperature only after all rounds are pressed, so they hit a hot fry and crisp rather than absorb oil.
Drain on a wire rack, not paper towels — trapped steam softens the bottom crust.
Common mistake: pressing raw plantain. It will not flatten cleanly and the disc will crack; always par-fry first.

Good to know

Plantain ripeness: Fully green only; any yellow signals sugar and a gummy interior after pressing
Initial cut: 2.5–4 cm (1–1.5 in) rounds, ideally on the bias
Pressed thickness: 6–12 mm (¼–½ in)
First fry: 160–175 °C / 325–350 °F for 2–3 minutes per side
Second fry: 175–190 °C / 350–375 °F for 1–2 minutes per side
Oil: Neutral, high smoke point (canola, vegetable, peanut); palm oil in some regions
Tools: Tostonera, flat-bottomed glass, tortilla press, or heavy pan — with parchment between plantain and tool
Yield: Roughly 8–12 tostones per kg of green plantains