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Eggplants are the deep purple beauties of the vegetable world. They belong to the nightshade vegetable family, which means they are actually fruits rich in vitamins and minerals.

These spongy textured garden treasures are sold year round, but taste best when grown in August through October.

Choosing Your Eggplant

Eggplants that are firm and heavy with a smooth skin are usually the best picks out of a batch. Since not all eggplants are actually purple make sure the purple, white, or green color is extremely vivid. This pop of color hints to the ripeness and overall healthiness of the vegetable.

You can test the ripeness of an eggplant by pushing a thumb on the skin of the vegetable. If the skin remains slightly indented from the pressure of the thumb the plant needs more time. Eggplant is ready to eat if the indent bumps back to its original state.

Preparation

After first washing the eggplant a stainless steel knife can be used to remove the ends. Stainless steel knives are preferred for eggplants because carbon steel knives react with the eggplants phytonutrients and cause the vegetable to turn black. Generally, eggplant has tough skin so removing it could help make the eggplant more enjoyable to eat.

After cutting the eggplant into the desired shape it is a good idea to salt it and let it sit for roughly 30 minutes. The salt will counteract the naturally bitter taste of the eggplant, sweetening it up a bit.

The salt will also pull out some of the water and keep the eggplant from absorbing any oils used in cooking.

Once you’ve cut and salted the eggplant the next step is to the plate.

The most common cooking styles are baking, roasting, or steaming.

NUTRITION FACTS

Serving size: 1 cup cubed or 82g)

Calories: 20

Total Fat: 0g

Total Carbohydrate: 5g

Dietary Fiber: 3g

Protein: 1g