Tostones

Plantains came to the Americas with the Spanish in the 16th century (via the Canary Islands), while the technique of frying, smashing, and re-frying green plantains is generally credited to West African enslaved cooks who adapted their starch-processing traditions in the Caribbean. The dish is pan-Caribbean and pan-Latin American rather than uniquely Cuban, and goes by different regional names: tostones (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic), tachinos or chatinos (Cuba's own local term), bannann peze (Haiti), and patacones (Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru). "Tostón" derives from the Spanish tostar, "to toast"; "patacón" is borrowed from the name of a colonial-era silver coin, after the flat, round, coin-like shape of the disc.

Two-stage frying carried to the Spanish Caribbean by West African enslaved cooks from the 17th century onward. First fry at 140–150°C gelatinizes the starch so the round can be smashed without tearing; second fry at 180°C+ crisps the new surface area. Single-fry plantain is just chewy and greasy.

Green plantain rounds, fried once at low heat to soften, smashed flat between two boards or a tostonera, then fried again at higher heat until the edges curl crisp. Salt while hot. Inside stays starchy and dense like firm potato; outside snaps. Eaten with mojo (garlic-citrus) for dipping, or under a piece of stewed meat to soak the sauce.

Two-stage frying is the entire mechanism. First fry (140–150°C) gelatinizes the starch and softens the cell structure so the round can be smashed without tearing; second fry (180°C+) drives off surface moisture and crisps the now-flattened, larger surface area. Single-fry plantain is just chewy and greasy — you need the smash in between to expose new surfaces to the hot oil.