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EGGPLANT : Eggplant has been known for over 2,500 years in Asia, and has been grown for over 4000 years in the region of Assam and Burma. Imported by the big Arabian caravans, it reached North Africa where it was quickly adopted by the Mediterranean countries, brought into Spain by the invading Moors, and settling in Andalusia in the early Middle Ages. Eggplant was looked down upon by European doctors, and was cultivated as an ornamental plant. Known in France as “aubergine”, the English refer to it as eggplant due to a variety with small oval-shape fruits which they grew in the house..
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the vegetable
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Domestication of the eggplant, or aubergine, led to the development of eggplant which are much less bitter than the original varieties. A flowering eggplant is highly ornamental, with lovely violet-blue flowers. The fruit of the eggplant comes in many different shapes and sizes, most often oval. However there can be small eggplant the size of an egg, or big pear-shaped balls. The skin is always shiny and smooth.
The flesh is creamy and full of tiny seeds. This purple-robed fruit, like a proud cardinal, stimulated the curiosity of Louis the XIV, who ordered his gardener to grow the plant. However eggplant only appeared in cookbooks as of the 19th century. It is truly a plant of the south, and is closely associated with cooking from Nice, Andalusia, Greece and Italy. Exportation and marketing have placed the eggplant on tables throughout the world. Eggplant were introduced to the United States by Thomas Jefferson who experimented with the seeds and slips from many different varieties. |
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| varieties |
- Barbatane: purple skin, long oval shape, dense flesh. The best known variety.
- “Japonaise”: white with small faded purple lines
- “Dourga”: bright white skin, small oval shape, thin skin.
- Pink
- Green
- China purple robe – the shape resembles a long, cylindrical zucchini |
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Did you know ?
Recent studies conducted in the United States and Austria have shown eggplant’s ability to slow the increase in cholesterol. Some of the components of eggplant indeed flush these lipids into the blood circulation before they are absorbed by the body. |
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coOK'S TIP
If you want to fry eggplant, it’s best to drain the eggplant for an hour, to avoid soaking up too much oil. Sprinkle salt on the eggplant cut into the shapes you desire (slices, diced …), leave for an hour, then wipe with absorbent paper. |
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SAVOUR
Eggplant caviar with ewesheep cheese and tendrils of parmesan
> See the recipe |
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