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The 'eggplant', 'aubergine' or 'brinjal' (''Solanum melongena'') 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 fleshy, 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 ft) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad.

Contents

History

Cultivated varieties

Cooking

Cultivation

Statistics

Health

See also

References

External links

History

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. 'Aubergine' is the British name given to this fruit, from the French ''aubergine'', derived from Catalan ''albergínia''; from Arabic ''al-bãdhinjãn'' الباذنجان, Persian بادنجان ''bâdinjân'' or بادنگان ''bâdengân'', from Sanskrit ''vatinganah''. In South Africa the fruit is known as a ''Brinjal''. In India it is called by a variety of names. ''Baingan'' in Hindi and Urdu, and ''Katharikkaai'' in Tamil. In Mandarin Chinese the plant and fruit are referred to as ''qiezi'' (). In Japanese it's called ''nasu'' (, , taken from the Chinese). In Spanish it is called ''Berenjena''. In Trinidad & Tobago it is called ''Melongene'' or ''Baigan''.
Because of the eggplant's relationship with the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, it was at one time believed to be poisonous.

Cultivated varieties

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. Larger varieties weighing up to a kilogram grow in the doaba of ganga and yamuna, while smaller varieties are found elsewhere; 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.
Numerous other names are used, many derived from the Sanskrit ''vatinganah'', which has given birth to a number of names for this plant in various languages and dialects: brinjal, badingan, melongena, melanzana, berenjena, albergínia, aubergine, brown-jolly, and mad-apple (a misinterpretation of the Italian ''melanzana'' as ''mela insana''). [1]
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.

Cooking

The raw fruit can have a somewhat bitter taste, but becomes tender when cooked and develops a rich, complex flavor. Salting and then rinsing the sliced eggplant will soften and remove much of the bitterness, known as ''degorging''. Some modern varieties do not need this treatment, as they are less bitter. The eggplant is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes, but the salting process will reduce the amount of oil absorbed. 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. In particular, the Turkish cuisine is said to know one thousand recipes for preparing eggplant. 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 or the Indian dishes of Baigan Bhartha or Gojju. 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 achaar. 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. In the cuisine of North Karnataka in South India, Brinjal is stuffed with ground coconut, peanuts, and masala and then cooked in oil. This is called ''yengai'' in the local language, and eaten with with sorghum bread, ''jolada rotti'', and is a delicacy.
Grilled and mashed aubergine/eggplant, mixed with onions, tomatoes, and spices, makes the Indian dish called ''baingan ka bhartha'' or the Arabian dish called Baba Ghanuj.

Cultivation

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.
Many pests and diseases which afflict other solanaceous vegetables, i.e. tomato, pepper (capsicum), potato, etc. are also troublesome to eggplants. For this reason, it should not be planted in areas previously occupied by its close relatives. Four years should separate successive crops of eggplants. Common North American pests include the potato beetle, flea beetle, aphids and spider mites. Many of these can be controlled using ''Bacillus thurengensis'' (Bt), a bacterium that attacks the soft-bodied larvae. (Adults can be removed by hand, though flea beetles can be especially difficult to control.) Good sanitation and crop-rotation practices are extremely important for controlling fungal disease, the most serious of which in the aubergine is Verticillium.
Spacing should be 45 cm (18 in) to 60 cm (24 in) between plants, depending on cultivar, and 60 cm (24 in) to 90 cm (36 in) between rows, depending on the type of cultivation equipment being used. Mulching will help conserve moisture and prevent weeds and fungal diseases. The flowers are relatively unattractive to bees and the first blossoms often do not set fruit. Hand pollination will improve the set of the first blossoms. Fruits are typically cut from the vine just above the calyx owing to the semi-woody stems.

Statistics

According to the USDA, production of eggplant is highly concentrated, with 93 percent of output coming from seven countries. China (55 percent of world output) and India (28 percent) are the top producers, with the United States a distant 20th. Egypt, Turkey, and Japan round out the top five producing nations. More than 4 million acres (16,000 km²) are devoted to the cultivation of eggplant in the world.^[1]

Health

Studies of the Instituto de Biociências of the UNESP de Botucatu, São Paulo showed that aubergine is effective in the treatment of
hypercholesterolemia and in the control of cholesterol (about 30% reduction).

See also

★ Solanum gilo

★ Caviar d'aubergine (French Provencal Cuisine)

★ Eggplant salad

★
★ Baba ghanoush

★
★ Salată de vinete (Romanian cuisine)

★ Escalivada (Catalan cuisine)

★ Musakka (Turkish cuisine)

★ Mutabbal (Lebanese cuisine)

★ Thai eggplant

★ Mirza Qasimi

References

1. Vegetables and Melons Outlook/VGS-318

External links

★ Aubergine: Plants for a Future database

★ ''Solanum melongena'' L. on Solanaceae Source - Images, specimens and a full list of scientific synonyms previously used to refer to the eggplant.

★ Nutrition facts