This summer, our tomatoes haven’t been great, but it’s been a banner year for eggplants (Solanum melongena).
Have you ever wondered how eggplants got their name? What’s ‘eggy’ about a long, purple-black vegetable?
Indigenous to India, China and Southeast Asia, eggplant was cultivated for thousands of years and slowly introduced to Europe and Africa.
In British English and French, they are known as aubergines. Spaniards, who introduced eggplants to North America, call them beregena. The name eggplant is used in the United States, Australia and Canada because in the beginning, there was only one type of eggplant, and it was white. The first varieties introduced in these countries were smaller and white or yellow colored and shaped like an egg.
Because eggplants are members of the nightshade family, it took a while for them to catch on as edible plants since some nightshades are toxic to humans. By the 18th century, Thomas Jefferson was growing eggplants for eating and their acceptance grew.
When hybridizers started developing eggplants that wouldn’t bruise during shipment, the large, deep purple eggplants that are commonly found today were created.
Are you ready for a few more surprises?
Botanically speaking, eggplant is a fruit and not a vegetable. Fruits are, after all, the ripened ovaries of flowering plants which contain the seeds and develop from the flower after fertilization. This definition includes peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, grains and nuts.
And get this. More specifically, eggplants are berries. A berry is a fleshy fruit without a stone or core that develops from a single ovary of a single flower and contains multiple seeds embedded within its flesh. Besides eggplants, true berries include tomatoes, grapes, bananas and blueberries.
Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are technically aggregate fruits, not true berries.
Eggplants are botanically related to tobacco, and eggplant seeds contain nicotine in the highest level of any other edible plant. However, you would need to eat 20-40 pounds of eggplant to equal the amount of nicotine in a single cigarette.
Depending on variety, eggplants need 60 to 90 days to produce once they’re transplanted to your garden. Like zucchini, don’t turn your back on ‘em. Eggplants are best harvested when they’re still a little immature. Bigger does not mean better. Just like other nightshades like tomatoes and peppers, examine the skin to determine when to harvest.
A ripe eggplant has smooth, glossy skin. It’s technically still an immature fruit at this point, but this is the best time to pick for flavor and texture.
Once the skin becomes dull, the eggplant is overripe and the flavor fades. If the skin is already turning golden in color, it’s well past the ‘best-by’ date.
When an eggplant is at its peak, you’ll leave a finger indentation that plumps right back up when you press the flesh. If the eggplant is underripe, you won’t leave an indentation. If the eggplant is overripe, the indentation will not rebound. A really overripe eggplant may even feel spongy.
When harvesting, use a clean pair of pruners. Remove the fruit with about one inch of stem attached to help to prevent the eggplant from rotting. Almost every time I’ve used my hands to pull the fruit from the plant, I’ve damaged the entire branch. Remember to handle eggplants gently, since they bruise easily.
Keeping the plants well picked will encourage them to continue producing.
Like peppers and tomatoes, eggplants will continue to ripen after they’re picked. Eggplants can be left unrefrigerated for about two days before they begin to decline. If you won’t need them for a few days, store them in the refrigerator where they will stay fresh for five to seven days.
Since eggplants grow best in hot weather, you may think that in the United States, most eggplants come from California, Texas or Florida. Fuhgeddaboudit. The Garden State of New Jersey is America’s top eggplant producing state.
