Cook’s Insider: Crispy, Tender Tostones

“You’d be hard pressed to find a single Caribbean [or Latin American] dish that isn’t complemented by tostones,” said food historian Von Diaz when we connected to discuss the iconic twice-fried green plantains. 

The fruit is “literally falling from the trees” in many areas, she noted. That bounty led to cooking with plantains at every stage of maturity, including the unripe phase that’s used for tostones. 

The framework for frying the plantains is similar across cuisines: First, remove the peel and cut the flesh into fat chunks. Fry the chunks, press them into thin disks, and then fry them again.

The most effective way to press the cooked chunks into uniform disks was the traditional one: using a tostonera (plantain press). It’s a satisfying process: As the chunks are smashed, they open like flowers, with the edges splaying into petal-like forms, the black seeds acting as the center of the bloom.

I had read about a traditional Puerto Rican technique that calls for briefly submerging the pressed, once-fried plantains in salt water, so I gave it a try.

It worked beautifully. The saline bath coated the broad surface area, seasoning the tostones much more thoroughly than simply sprinkling on salt at the end of the second fry. And the textural benefits were striking: During a brief rest on a wire rack, the salt water permeated and hydrated the flesh, leading to softer, silkier interiors. 

Submerged in bubbling oil, the salt water–dunked tostones sizzled and puffed, developing frilly, ultracrunchy edges. Get the perfect tostones ready to serve as the backbone of countless meals.

FEATURED RECIPE

Fried green plantains are all about contrast: crackly, caramelized edges and soft, buttery centers. Get the recipe.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

RECIPE DEVELOPED BY KELLY SONG

Kelly Song is an associate food editor at America’s Test Kitchen. She studied English literature and poetry at Cornell and worked in broadcast and breaking news at CNBC. Her love of cooking began with her dad, who taught her how to wield a wok, and continued in Ithaca, New York, where she was the sous chef of a French bistro. She went on to help build two restaurants in Tampa, Florida. When she isn’t donning an apron, she loves bird watching, ballroom dancing, and playing her violin. 

This content is from the July/August 2026 issue of Cook’s Illustrated. Not a subscriber?  Let’s change that.

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WHAT I’M UP TO

My latest recipe for Cook’s Illustrated is for Niku UdonCook’s Illustrated is for Niku Udon (Japanese Beef and Noodle Soup). It’s been a fun and tasty exploration of a simple yet complexly flavored and nuanced dish. I can’t wait for our readers to try it once it’s published in the spring! 

WHAT I’M EATING

I just returned from vacation in Ireland and can’t stop riffing on my favorite breakfast from the trip. The porridge at Ballymaloe House was legendary. Stone-ground oatmeal made with the property’s own honey and a sinful amount of cream, I topped mine with strawberry-rhubarb compote, nuts and seeds, and a sprinkling of the most decadent demerara sugar. I’ve yet to successfully recreate that magic at home, but am having fun trying.