We came home with a Pandora Striped Rose (the egg shaped one), another that looked like the Pandora, but was longer and curved, two that seem like small Chinese, and a really skinny dark colored one. The Pandora Striped Rose was not springy when I squeezed it - usually a sign that the egg plant is past it's prime eating age. The other eggplants seemed to all be in good condition (except the dark thin one was a bit too soft).
I started by cutting the eggplants into approx. half inch pieces. Since I didn't know the names of the eggplants, I drew little pictures of each type of eggplant onto small pieces of paper so I could keep track. I also minced about six cloves of garlic to cook the eggplant with.
Cooking each batch separately, I sauteed the eggplant in about one tablespoon of light olive oil. It's important to keep the eggplant moving when it hits the hot oil because eggplant can really suck up a lot of oil and a single piece could easily absorb most of the oil in the pan. So, I force the eggplant to share by tossing constantly during the first few seconds in the pan. I then tossed in a pinch of kosher salt and continued to toss. Once all the egg plant had started to cange color (an indication that they are cooking through), I threw in some minced garlic and cooked until the garlic became tender.
Once all the eggplant had been cooked out in the same manner, I called Tina over and we started tasting, going back and forth between plates. My favorite was the one in the upper left corner - the eggplant that looked like the Pandora Striped Rose but was longer and bent. The skin was soft and flavorful and it had a distinct eggplant flavor without being over powering. Next was the one in the lower right corner, cooked from the two eggplants that look like miniature chinese eggplants. The skin was not as soft, but had a little crispy texture to it. Favor was a bit bland, but with the salt, it still tasted quite good. The almost loser was the really thin, dark eggplant in the upper right. Skin was a bit tough and not much flavor. The loser was the Pandora Striped Rose - both skin and flesh were tough and flavor a bit bitter. This eggplant could have benefited greatly from a salting.My final conclusion? Most of the eggplants pretty much tasted the same, but the skin or flesh would be tougher or softer. Generally, that is an age issue. I don't think I would be able to tell one variety from the next had they all been springy (soft and yet firm) to the touch.
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I recently found your blog and really like it.
I saw such a pretty eggplant in the farmers market last week, it was small, egg-shaped and white. I now regret not buying it as I assume it must have been an original variety given the nomenclature in use.
Cal
Cut them in half, lenghtwise. Salt generously and lay salt down on an aluminium square roasting pan. Forget in hot oven for 90 minutes ou more. It needs to burn a little, the skin will srink. Let it cool, remove from pan using your hands and cajoling gently. Using a spoon scrape to the skin, now good for composting. Mix violently, to blend every tiny last bit, using lots of olive oil, some garlig, some oregano. Eat with heavy bread. Cry for more.
take eggplant(baingan in hindi) n slightly roast it on coals or in a pan with little bit of oil.these roasted eggfruits taste better than anything else.add chopped onions,red chilli powder,salt and hot oil.really tasty.
ravi
banglore
india
eggplant is very much declicious if you'll try this recep..
boil eggplant in hot water for about 20 minutes, after that take it off from the pan and remove the skins, flatten it and soak it in a scrambled raw egg until its fully coated....cook it in a pan using oil (fry)...
try it..its very delicious..
one of my best
The more important contribution it makes to preparing eggplant is controlling how the cell walls collapse during cooking. If eggplant is salted before it is cooked, the texture is much more desirable, regardless of whether the eggplant is fried or braised.
I've found that the only difference between salted and unsalted eggplants is that the salted ones are.. saltier.
Also, I've found out recently that salt "dulls"/blocks the bitterness in foods (at the taste buds???). So the perception that salting draws out the bitter compounds may be a misconception... Instead the salting mask the bitter compounds... I need to do more research on this.
I personally don't salt eggplant... too much time and effort... and obtain good results.
It is important to get firm, shiny eggplant. If your eggplant is a little older - peel them - and proceed.
It is my understanding that the bitterness lies in the skin - not the flesh - so removing the skin of older eggplants will cut the bitterness. Salt has no effect on bitterness - it is used to pull out the moisture.
No both of these comments are incorrect. The bitterness lies in the flesh, there are specific and known alkaloids causing it and osmotic pressure from salting removes most the alkaloids. The Alkaloids are not beneficial to either taste or nutrition.
Also not only does variety affect alkaloid level, but so does gender of the eggplant, age, and size. look at base indent to see if it is round or ovoid to determine sex. You want round which is male and has way fewer seeds and lower alkaloids.
Best salting method is to grab a grate, such as the grate from your microwave or toaster oven, put it in the sink, cut the eggplant into 3/4 inch slices, salt one side with kosher or table salt, let stand on grate for 15 minutes, turn over salt the other side, wait 30 minutes, turn over salt again wait 30 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly and AFTER rinsing squeeze slices like a sponge under running water (so when you let go alkaloids are rinsed off and not reabsorbed).
probably yes. you can also toast eggplant though then mix it with some egg, then deep fry fatty yet delicious. my friend cook it and i love it.
But don't quote me on it, I wouldn't know for sure without actually seeing it
light amethyst colour and shaped like a butt! The lighter colours seem to have more tender skin because they probably reflect more light off of them then the darker varieties. Oh, and if you've never made moussaka from scratch you have a real cooking experience ahead of you!
Newest favorite eggplant dish: napolean. Slice & cook the eggplant in a little bit of oil, layer (about 3 layers) with homemade putanesca sauce (onions, garlic, chillies, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, olives, capers, basil, salt, pepper), top with bread crumbs (cheese if you want, but I'm vegan) then bake until bread crumbs are crispy, approx 15-20 min.
Hey, that's smart!