Magnolias

Nightshades

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• General & History -
• Working with Eggplants - Peeling, Stuffing, Cooking, etc.
• Varieties -
• Health Considerations
• Links -

Eggplants are thought native to Southern India and Sri Lanka and have been cultivated since prehistoric times. They were probably brought to Europe by Arabs around 1500 CE. Europeans at first thought them poisonous since all their native nightshades were, but they were soon adopted into the cuisines of the Mediterranean region.

Eggplants are now grown worldwide and are available in many varieties and sizes (as all nightshades are). More varieties are grown in India than anywhere else, and while the common "Indian eggplant" well known in the U.S. weighs just a couple ounces, varieties as large as our globe eggplant are grown there.

African Eggplants
Many varieties of eggplant, mostly small, grow in Africa. Some are round, and some are shaped like tiny pumpkins. They come in purple, white and green varieties, but tend to be relatively bitter, so are used mainly as an accent ingredient in soups and stews. Best substitute would be Thai eggplants (less bitter).   Photo © i0073.

Chinese Eggplant
These elongated eggplants are easily recognizable by their light purple color. In Southern California they are available second only to the globe eggplant. They can be used interchangeably with Italian, Japanese and Philippine eggplants and are an imperfect but generally satisfactory substitute for Indian eggplants. The longest photo specimen was 15-1/2 inches long, 2 inches diameter and weighed about 11 ounces. Most are less elongated, the front one being a more typical shape.

Eggplant Skins
These conical skins are used for stuffing in Turkey and Lebanon and are generally served as appetizers. Skins are usually sold strung on a piece of string in markets serving a Near Eastern community. Hard as old leather, they need to be soaked at least overnight before you can use them for anything.

Globe Eggplant
The standard supermarket eggplant, globes vary greatly in size and regularity of shape. They may be perfectly pear shaped or quite lopsided but are always a deep purple color. The photo specimen was 8 inches long, 5-1/2 inches diameter and weighed 2-1/4 pounds, about an average size.

Indian Eggplant
These small egg shaped eggplants are now very common in California produce markets because of the significant Indian population here (and probably in other centers of technology). They come in two varieties, purple and variegated with the purple most common. They are almost never peeled.

This is the eggplant to presume in Indian and Burmese recipes unless the instructions make it clear elongated or globe eggplants are intended. Indian eggplants vary somewhat in size. The largest photo specimen was 3-3/4 inches long, 2-3/8 inches diameter and weighing 4-1/8 ounces, a bit above average. The smallest in the batch (not shown) was 1-7/8 inches diameter and weighed just 1-1/8 ounces.

Italian Eggplant
These dark purple eggplants appear very similar to Japanese eggplant but are invariably a lot shorter. They are the second most available eggplant nation-wide after the globe. The center photo specimen was 7-1/2 inches long, 1-3/4 inches diameter and weighed just under 5 ounces.

Japanese Eggplant
These very elongated eggplants are smaller than the Chinese and are a very dark purple, sometimes almost black. You can tell them from the similar Italian eggplants because the stem end is purple, while on Italians it is green. These eggplants have a very thin skin which makes them desirable for stews, curries and the like.They vary greatly in size but are typically about 8 inches long, 1-1/2 inches diameter and weigh 5 ounces. These are widely available in Southern California produce markets but are somewhat seasonal.

Mediterranean Sweet Eggplant
I have no idea if they actually grow these in the Mediterranean region, but Med. Sweet is how they're marketed in California. They may actually be related to a sweet Italian eggplant which is of a variegated white and purple color and more blocky in shape. The degree of sweetness over regular eggplants is noticeable but not great. These were 4-1/4 inch diameter spheres weighing just about 1 pound each. They are not common and are available only seasonally.

Philippine Eggplant
These elongated eggplants are similar in shape to the Japanese and Chinese eggplants but distinguished from them by the mix of purple and green color. They vary quite a bit in size with the largest in the photo 9-1/2 inches long, 2-7/8 inches diameter and weighing 14 ounces. They are available in most markets that serve a Philippine community (generally near major hospital and health care centers).

Thai Eggplant - [Kermit Eggplant; Makua (Thai)]

Unique, easy to identify eggplants growing in popularity and now widely available in California and the Southwest. They stay noticeably firmer than other eggplants when cooked so can take longer cooking and more abuse. These eggplants are never peeled. Typically they are about 2-1/2 inches diameter and weighing 3-1/4 ounces.

Those grown in California are mainly green strips over white or light green background, but some white are grown here. In Thailand yellow and light purple versions are also sold. An elongated light green Thai eggplant similar in appearance to the Japanese eggplant except for color, is not yet much available here.

Thai Pea Eggplant - [makua puong, Solanum torvum]

This eggplant, little bigger than a pea, grows in clusters like cluster tomatoes. It is green and a little more bitter than the regular Thai eggplant. So far it is not much available in the U.S., even in Los Angeles, but seeds are available on-line.   Photo © i0072.

Vietnamese Pickled Eggplant - [Ca Phao, Ca muoi (Viet)]

These are apparently ca trang (white eggplant) judging from the amount of seeds. Another, ca nghe (yellow eggplant is also used for pickles but has relatively fewer seeds. Very crunchy with a light eggplant flavor, they are about 1 inch in diameter. In Vietnam, pickled eggplants of this sort are considered an indispensable accompaniment for soups.

White Eggplant
These vary from chicken egg size to duck egg size and on to goose egg size. Some are egg shaped and others are elongated as the photo specimens are. White eggplants have tough skins which need to be peeled (unless you're stuffing them) but the flesh is a little more mild than purple eggplants. The photo specimen in the center was 7-1/4 inches long, 1-7/8 inches diameter and weighed 5-3/4 ounces. Availability is erratic, both for white eggplants at all and for particular shapes - you just have to buy them when you can get them.

Eggplants are a good source of dietary fiber and contain appreciable amounts of potassium, manganese, copper, Vitamin B1, B6 and foliate.

Scientific studies have concentrated on the high content of important antioxidants and free radical scavengers. Eggplants are considered very good for both anti-cancer and anti-cholesterol considerations.

Eggplants contain more oxalate than other nightshades and most other vegetables. Oxalates can affect persons with pre-existing kidney and gall bladder problems. While oxalates are known to inhibit calcium absorption this effect is very small and foods containing oxalates generally provide more calcium to the diet than they inhibit.

Eggplants contain an unusually high amount of nicotine alkaloids, but you would have to eat at least 20 pounds of eggplant to achieve the amount from smoking one cigarette.

Eggplants prepared certain ways can cause a very light but noticeable stinging sensation in the mouth. This is normal and harmless.

Claims have been made that arthritis symptoms were relieved by removal of all nightshades (eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, etc.) from the diet, but these claims have not been confirmed by any controlled study.

Much anti-nightshade propaganda originates from the Michio Kushi Macrobiotics movement - much more religion than science. They claim all nightshades (eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, chilis, etc.) are highly toxic and will ruin your health in short order. If there was any truth to that I'd have died decades ago.

Populations with heavy eggplant consumption, particularly India, do not appear to be suffering population decline nor any other ailment that can be attributed to eggplants.

• E1 - Eggplants, Nutrition & Health - George Mateljan Foundation   the world's healthiest foods.