In order to better understand consumers' trait preferences with respect to plantain, a literature review was undertaken to reveal important insights on this topic. Bananas and plantains constitute an important staple food to millions of people in the world. In Cameroon, fruit physicochemical characteristics such as fruit girth, fruit length and peel thickness are important criteria for householders in the choice of plantain cultivars for specific uses. This is backed up by the fact that some households assumed that plantain fruits with high peel thickness are easier to peel. Other parameters such as pulp to peel ratio, pulp firmness, total soluble solids, pH, total titratable acidity and dry matter content which are evaluated during ripening are also of great importance. Using various sources of energy (firewood, gas or kerosene cooker), unripe and ripe plantain pulps are sometimes cooked with salt and specific average quantity of water within a well-defined time. The boiling time been dependent on the ripening stage of the pulp, its grade and the plantain cultivar. The steps involved in plantain pulps preparation are: (i) fruit peeling and scrapping off the tiny membrane covering the pulps; (ii) pulp washing and cutting into pieces if they are large enough; and (iii) pulp cooking with a sufficient quantity of water within a precise cooking time. Apart from the consumers' physical traits preferences in Cameroon, few or no information is given regarding the organoleptic characteristics and the quality of boiled plantain at each steps of processing. The supply system of plantain include producers, wholesalers, collectors, loaders and transporters. Plantains are an important source of income for smallholder farmers and sellers in west and central Africa.