The original recipe called for the plantains to be at least 60% black. I tried this recipe with plantains at several stages of ripening. To my taste, I preferred them when they were just getting a bit soft and had only a little bit of black. They were still sweet with just a hint of tart and had more fresh taste like regular bananas with just a hint of green. When they were mostly black, they taste more like bananas when they have started to get brown spots.