e ways plantains shape Latinx culture, community, and family, told through a young girl's experiences in the kitchen with her abuela. Abuela says, "plátanos are love." I thought they were food. But Abuela says they feed us in more ways than one. With every pop of the tostones, mash of the mangú, and sizzle of the maduros, a little girl learns that plátanos are her history, they are her culture, and--most importantly--they are love.