Eggplant Fruit

The Eggplant is a solanaceous plant bearing a fruit of the same name, commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. It is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is a short-lived perennial plant often cultivated as an annual, growing 40 to 150 cm (16 to 57 in) tall, often spiny, with large coarsely lobed leaves 10 to 20 cm (4-8 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2-4 in) broad. The flowers are white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is a fleshy berry, less than 3 cm in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms. The fruit contains numerous small, soft seeds. (Semi-)wild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7 feet) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad.

The eggplant is an important food crop grown for its large, pendulous, purple or white fruit. It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asian countries since prehistory but appears to have become known to the Western world no earlier than ca. 1500 CE. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate that it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs who invaded Persia in the early Middle Ages. The scientific name Solanum melongena is derived from a 16th-century Arabic term for one kind of eggplant. The name eggplant in the United States, Australia, and Canada developed from the fact that the fruits of some 18th-century European cultivars were yellow or white and resembled goose or hen's eggs. In South Africa the fruit is known as a Brinjal. In India it is called Baingan, which is also the Hindi name. Baingan is also used in Urdu. Because of the eggplant's relationship with the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, it was at one time believed to be poisonous.

The most widely grown cultivars in Europe and North America today are elongated ovoid, 12-25 cm long and 6-9 cm broad with a dark purple skin. A much wider range of shapes, sizes and colors is grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. There, cultivars that closely resemble a hen's egg in both size and shape are widely grown; colors vary from white to yellow or green as well as reddish-purple and dark purple. Some cultivars have a color gradient, from white at the stem to bright pink to deep purple, or even black, and green or purple cultivars with white striping also exist. Chinese eggplants are commonly shaped like a narrower, slightly pendulous cucumber. Oval or elongated oval-shaped and black-skinned cultivars include: 'Harris Special Hibush', 'Burpee Hybrid', 'Black Magic', 'Classic', 'Dusky', and 'Black Beauty'. Long, slim cultivars with purple-black skin include: 'Little Fingers', 'Pingtung Long' and 'Tycoon'; with green skin: 'Louisiana Long Green' and 'Thai (Long) Green'; with white skin: 'Dourga'. Traditional, white-skinned, oval-shaped cultivars include 'Casper' and 'Easter Egg'. Bicolored cultivars with color gradient include: 'Rosa Bianca', and 'Violetta di Firenze'. Bicolored cultivars with striping include: 'Listada de Gandia' and 'Udumalapet'. Matti Gulla or Matti brinjal is a unique variety of brinjal grown in the village of Matti in Udupi; it is light green in color and round in shape. Some brinjals of this variety weigh more than one kilogram.

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The raw fruit can have a somewhat bitter taste but, when cooked, becomes tender and develops a rich, complex flavour. Salting and then rinsing the sliced eggplant will soften and remove much of the bitterness. This process is called degorging. Lightly sprinkling the slices with salt, and laying them out on a paper or cloth towel for 20-30 minutes will accomplish this. However, many modern varieties do not need this treatment as they are not that bitter. The eggplant is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes. On the other hand, if it is undesirable for the fruit to absorb a lot of oil, then the salting process will reduce this effect. The fruit flesh is smooth; as in the related tomato, the numerous seeds are soft and edible along with the rest of the fruit. The thin skin is also edible, so that the eggplant need not be peeled. The eggplant is used in cuisines from Japan to Spain. It is often served stewed, as in the French ratatouille, the italian melanzane alla parmigiana, the Greek moussaka, and many South Asian dishes. It may also be roasted in its skin until charred, so that the pulp can be removed and blended with other ingredients, as in the Middle Eastern dish baba ghanoush and the similar Greek dish melitzanosalata. It can be sliced, battered, and deep-fried, then served with various sauces: yoghurt-based, tahini-based, or tamarind-based. The eggplant can also be stuffed with meat, rice, or other fillings and then baked. In the Caucasus for example, it is fried and stuffed with walnut paste to make nigvziani badrijani. As a native plant, it is widely used in the South Indian cuisine, for example in sambhar, chutney, curries, and oil preserves/aachaar. Owing to its versatile nature and wide use, in both everyday and festive South Indian food, it is often described (under the name brinjal) as the 'King of Vegetables' in South India. Grilled and mashed aubergine/eggplant, mixed with onions, tomatoes, and spices for flavour, makes the Indian dish called baingan ka bhartha or the Arabian dish called Baba Ghanuj.

In tropical and subtropical climates, the eggplant can be sown directly into the garden. Eggplant grown in temperate climates fares better when transplanted into the garden after all danger of frost is past. Seeds are typically started eight to ten weeks prior to the anticipated frost-free date.

The Eggplant is high in Dietary Fiber, Folate, Potassium, Manganese, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid and Magnesium.



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