Fruit or Vegetable?

The baby eggplant

I always like this time of year when you can see the fruits of your labor maturing. Take for example the eggplant. I’m probably like most adults that are a product of poor households in the fact that I never had a variety of fruits or vegetables as a child. A majority of Americans only partake in the potato, corn, or tomato aspect of these wondrous products. So it wasn’t until I was older that I tried to venture out with my tastes in food.

Since trying eggplant, I have used it in many forms from soups (ratatouille) to pasta dishes (eggplant parmesan) and anything in between (baba ghanoush, anyone?). But the best we’ve found so far is the Spicy Peanut Eggplant Stew as described in the Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. The little purple fruit growing on our plants have a future in the culinary arts.

Yes, I said fruit. Botanically speaking the eggplant is a fruit (see also tomato, cucumber, chili peppers, and some pod vegetables). In some European countries, it is known as aubergine and is part of the nightshade family.[1] While some species of the nightshade family are toxic due to the high levels of alkaloid, most edible varieties contain healthful benefits. Other members of the nightshade (night growing plants) family include potatoes, tomatoes, chili-, and bell peppers. Eggplants themselves contain small amounts of potassium, manganese, copper, vitamins B1, B3 and B6, folate, magnesium, and tryptophan while also being low in fat and cholesterol.[2]

Grown in a variety of sizes, colors, and textures, the eggplant is a warm season plant with sensitivity to frost. It’s best to transplant the tender plants after all danger of frost has passed in your area. And don’t think bigger eggplant are better. Instead, cut them when they are 6-8” long with a glossy, smooth flesh. Cutting them early results in a more palatable, less bitter flesh with smaller seeds to contend with compared to the larger ones. If you grow your own eggplant try to use it right away after harvesting since eggplant do not store well.

When you get ready to cook it there is the option to salt it. The salting only draws out extra moisture and doesn’t draw out any bitterness. Think of eggplant like a sponge. You want to remove the extra water and air trapped in the cells to ensure that whatever flavors you cook with are soaked up into the meaty flesh.[3] In addition, it reduces the amount of water bleed out and rate of oil absorption. Prior to using rinse off any salt then dry with a paper towel.

What are your thoughts on eggplant? Have you tried any other varieties aside from the classic black beauty?

Beautiful sunflower along the house

Aside from eggplant, there's a lot more going on in the gardens. The sunflowers are bursting with color and there's even one in the backyard - I don't know how it got there. But the morning glory are using it as a trellis. The 'Early Girl' tomato is almost ready for harvest while I still need to plant something in the empty void of the raised bed since we pulled out the spent sugar peas. The butternut squash is starting to change colors while the pumpkins are starting to gain weight. All in all a sight to behold.

The house sparrows are flocking to the feeders with their young in tow teaching them the ropes in foraging backyards for food and dirt baths. The mighty bird dog he thinks he is, Jake tries to constantly chase them from the yard to no avail. At the end of the day, I like to sit back at watch the zany antics conspiring in my backyard.

Final Thoughts

They're not much to look at but I leave you with my children as my closing remarks, enjoy!

Sputnik and Wicket pretending to be beached whales

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[1] “Nutritious Eggplant is a Misunderstood Veggie…er…Fruit.” The Florida Times-Union. February 17, 2011. http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/food-and-dining/2011-02-17/story/nutritious-eggplant-misunderstood-veggie-er-fruit (accessed August 6, 2013).

[2] IBID.

[3] University of Illinois Extension, “Watch Your Garden Grow – Eggplant.” http://urbanext.illinois.edu/veggies/eggplant.cfm (accessed August 6, 2013).