Eggplant --Vegetarian's Delight
Eggplant is a key ingredient in Italian, Middle Eastern and Asian dishes.
Eggplant is popular in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian, Creole, Greek and French recipes.
Eggplant is a vegetarian's delight, as its meaty firm texture is an excellent substitute for meat in many dishes.
Photo by rdesai (Flickr)
Eggplant is popular in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Indian, Creole, Greek and French recipes.
Eggplant is a vegetarian's delight, as its meaty firm texture is an excellent substitute for meat in many dishes.
Photo by rdesai (Flickr)
What You'll Find Here
- Italian Eggplant
- Storage
- Purple Eggplant
- I Recommend this Book
- Blog Posts About Eggplant
- Sliced Eggplant
- Medicine and Food
- Eating Your Way to Long Life
- Eggpant & Chinese Medicine
- Eggplant Absorbs Oil
- Classic Ratatouille
- Eggplant from Flickr Photos
- Cooking Ratatouille on Video
- My Top Ten Lenses
- Tell Me What You Think
- Eggplant Curry
“Always cook eggplant
before eating.”
Italian Eggplant
Italian eggplant resemples the common purple eggplant, except it is much smaller. mIt's skin is thinner and its flesh more delicate.
Italian Eggplant is available year round.
Selection:
Look for firm eggplants that are heavy for their size with taut, unwrinkled skin. When aqueezed, they should be springy, not spongy. Pits, dents or wrinkles are signs that the eggplant is bitter.
Preperation: Most italian eggplants just require a rinse and a trim of the stem and green cap.
Cooking:
Alwaus cook eggplant before eating. Italian eggplants are a good choice for grilling, stuffing or for forming eggplant rolls wrapped around prosciutto and mozzarella.
Italian Eggplant is available year round.
Selection:
Look for firm eggplants that are heavy for their size with taut, unwrinkled skin. When aqueezed, they should be springy, not spongy. Pits, dents or wrinkles are signs that the eggplant is bitter.
Preperation: Most italian eggplants just require a rinse and a trim of the stem and green cap.
Cooking:
Alwaus cook eggplant before eating. Italian eggplants are a good choice for grilling, stuffing or for forming eggplant rolls wrapped around prosciutto and mozzarella.
“Do not refrigerate
eggplant.”
Storage
Eggplanets are very perishable: do not refrigerate. Store them in a cool__not cold__ place in a plastic bag for up to 2 days.
Purple Eggplant
The most commonly available eggplant is large, cylindrical or pear-shaped, with a glossy, deep-purple skin.
Selection:
Look for firm eggplants that are heavy for their size. Small or medium eggplants are less likely to be bitter.
Preperation
The skin of small eggplants are edible. Large eggplants should be peeled. Eggplant discolors when exposed to air, so either peel right before using or dip pieces in acidulated water. Always cook eggplant before eating.
Salting is recommended to draw out bitter juices, to reduce the moisture content and to prevent the eggplant from absorbing too much oil when cooked. Recipes will vary on the amount of salting required.
Many people slice eggplant, cover it with a sprinkling of salt, place a weighted plate on top, Wait thirty minutes, then rinse it off to remove any bitter flavor. This is optional however, as good eggplants are not bitter.
Selection:
Look for firm eggplants that are heavy for their size. Small or medium eggplants are less likely to be bitter.
Preperation
The skin of small eggplants are edible. Large eggplants should be peeled. Eggplant discolors when exposed to air, so either peel right before using or dip pieces in acidulated water. Always cook eggplant before eating.
Salting is recommended to draw out bitter juices, to reduce the moisture content and to prevent the eggplant from absorbing too much oil when cooked. Recipes will vary on the amount of salting required.
Many people slice eggplant, cover it with a sprinkling of salt, place a weighted plate on top, Wait thirty minutes, then rinse it off to remove any bitter flavor. This is optional however, as good eggplants are not bitter.
I Recommend this Book
I have the 2002 Edition
“Eggplant is available
year round.”
Blog Posts About Eggplant
- 100. Braised Eggplant at Sushi Bon
- When a bowl of Asian eggplant arrives, minuscule fingers from papery bonito flutter as if it were alive. Savory, salty, and sweet mark each delicious bite of a dish that's braised in a soy and dashi broth. Dashi, or Japanese soup stock, is often made ...
- Food Files: Use salt to avoid soggy eggplant
- By LISA FRITZ Dear Lisa: When I sauté eggplant, it always ends up soggy, regardless of the amount of oil I use. Should the oil be hotter or cooler? Is there a fool-proof recipe to keeping it from absorbing the oil? -- FM Dear FM: Eggplant's spongy ...
- First Bite: Pound The Hill's Bistro & Wine Bar
- Eggplant Ratatouille: roasted eggplant filled with ratatouille in a fresh basil broth with brioche and Parmesan cheese. Paired with: Bellevue Sauvignon Blanc. Photo by Micky. The secret is out! Known locally as an organic coffee shop, Pound The Hill ...
- Valentine's Day Spicy Thai Shrimp & Eggplant will heat up your love celebration
- If using globe eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch slices and arrange on paper towels or a clean cloth. Lightly season with kosher salt and let excess moisture drain 30-60 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch dice. If using Asian eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch coins. 2.
Sliced Eggplant
Medicine and Food
"Medicine and Food are the Same."
- Neijing The Yellow Emperor's
Classic of Internal Medicine
Eating Your Way to Long Life
Eggplant is cooling with a sweet flavor. It contains a substance known as glycoalkaloids that is used topically in medicine to treat skin cancers, including basal cell carcinoma. A study done at University of Texas showed that eggplant appears to impede blood cholesterol levels from rising, after the consumption of fatty foods.
Eggplant is a member of the Nightshade family making it relative to tomato, green pepper and tobacco.
Some individuals with arthritis find that abstaining from eggplant and other nightshades reduces their symptoms. They contain solanine, which in large amounts inhibits calcium absorption.
Eggplant is antiseptic, diuretic and hemostatic. It helps clear toxic heat from the body and improves blood circulation. Eggplant is used to relieve colitis, constipation, bleeding hemorrhoids, pain, hypertension, stomach ulcers, swellings, and tumors.
Eggplant is a member of the Nightshade family making it relative to tomato, green pepper and tobacco.
Some individuals with arthritis find that abstaining from eggplant and other nightshades reduces their symptoms. They contain solanine, which in large amounts inhibits calcium absorption.
Eggplant is antiseptic, diuretic and hemostatic. It helps clear toxic heat from the body and improves blood circulation. Eggplant is used to relieve colitis, constipation, bleeding hemorrhoids, pain, hypertension, stomach ulcers, swellings, and tumors.
Eggpant & Chinese Medicine
"To enjoy good health, you must balance yin and yang," says Henry C. Lu, Ph.D., doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, principal of the International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Vancouver and author of Chinese System of Food Cures.
"Let's say that you have high blood pressure," Dr. Lu says. "There are different types with different causes, but one type is due to the liver being too yang." In that case, Dr. Lu might recommend eating more eggplant, which is not only yin but also can prevent arteriosclerosis.
"Let's say that you have high blood pressure," Dr. Lu says. "There are different types with different causes, but one type is due to the liver being too yang." In that case, Dr. Lu might recommend eating more eggplant, which is not only yin but also can prevent arteriosclerosis.
Eggplant Absorbs Oil
Careful, it's spongy texture, causes it to absorb a lot of oil in any recipe (in one experiment, fried eggplant absorbed four times more oil than French fried potatoes).
Classic Ratatouille
Classic Ratatouille is a harvest of good health and colorful antioxidants in a pot.
You don't have to be a gourmet cook-Disney cartoon rat chef or otherwise-to make this easy meal.
INGREDIENTS
8 - 10 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 large or 4 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 large eggplant, sliced into chunks the same size as the zucchini slices
5 large tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Tomato paste, to taste (optional)
care2.com
You don't have to be a gourmet cook-Disney cartoon rat chef or otherwise-to make this easy meal.
INGREDIENTS
8 - 10 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
3 large or 4 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 large eggplant, sliced into chunks the same size as the zucchini slices
5 large tomatoes, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Tomato paste, to taste (optional)
care2.com
Eggplant from Flickr Photos
Cooking Ratatouille on Video
My Top Ten Lenses
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byTell Me What You Think
Do you have a favorite recipe or tip for eggplant?
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ellagis
Jul 5, 2011 @ 3:42 pm | delete
- you´re right, eggplants absorb an impressive quantity of oil. As Italian, I cook everything with extra-virgin olive oil, but I use sunflower oil to fry eggplants. According to my experience, it´s the only way to prevent them from absorbing all the oil.
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flighty02
Feb 10, 2009 @ 2:55 am | delete
- I like eggplants and use them in curries quite a lot. Lensrolled and featured you on my Healthy Vegetarian Recipes - Easy, Creamy Eggplant (Aubergine) Curry lens.
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CreativeArtist May 20, 2008 @ 9:22 am | delete
- Thanks for the info about eggplant. I love eggplant parmesan.
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KimGiancaterino May 18, 2008 @ 12:39 am | delete
- I'll be growing some eggplant this summer! Welcome to Culinary Favorites From A to Z.
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Eggplant Curry
The eggplant dish in this video is a difficult one to get right and takes some practice. If the video is having trouble loading, the direct link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9gJTpOpTIw
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