Aubergine
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- "Eggplant" redirects here. For the color, see Eggplant (color).
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| Solanum melongena L. |
The aubergine, eggplant, 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 an annual plant growing 40 - 150 cm tall (16 in - 57 in), often spiny, with large coarsely lobed leaves 10-20 cm long and 5-10 cm broad. The flowers are white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is a fleshy berry, 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 (84 in.) with large leaves over 30 cm long and 15 cm broad.
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[edit] History
The aubergine 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 in the early Middle Ages. The scientific name melongena is derived from a 16th-century Arabic term for one kind of aubergine.
The aubergine is called the eggplant in the United States, Australia, and Canada. This name developed from the fact that the fruits of some 18th-century European cultivars were yellow or white and resembled goose or hen's eggs.
Because of the aubergine's relationship with the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, it was at one time believed to be poisonous.
[edit] 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 colours is grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. There, cultivars that closely resemble a hen's egg in both size and shape are widely grown; colours 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.
Aubergine is the British name given to this fruit, from the French aubergine, derived from Catalan albergínia; from Arabic al-bãdhinjãn الباذنجان, and from Persian بادنجان Bâdinjân.
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).
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: 'Lousisiana 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 colour and round in shape. Some brinjals of this variety weigh more than one kilogram.
[edit] Cookery
The raw fruit can have a somewhat bitter taste but, when cooked, becomes tender and develops a rich, complex flavour. Salting and then rinsing the sliced aubergine will soften and remove much of the bitterness. The aubergine is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes. 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 aubergine need not be peeled.
The aubergine is used in cuisines from Japan to Spain. It is often served stewed, as in the French ratatouille, the Levantine 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 ghanouj and the similar Greek dish melitzanosalata. It can be sliced, battered, and deep-fried, then served with various sauces: yoghurt-based, tahini-based, or tamarind-based. The aubergine 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 sambhars, chutneys, curries, and kootus. 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.
Peeled and roasted aubergine/brinjal, mixed with onions, tomatoes, and spices for flavour, makes up the Indian dish called Baingan ka bharta (also known as vangyacha bharta in Marathi).
For some recipes, the aubergine's high moisture content must be drained before cooking. Slicing the aubergine, lightly sprinkling the slices with salt, and laying them out on a paper or cloth towel for 20-30 minutes will accomplish this and also reduce any potential bitter flavor.
[edit] Cultivation
In tropical and subtropical climates, the aubergine can be sown directly into the garden. Aubergine 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 aubergines. For this reason, aubergines should not be planted in areas previously occupied by its close relatives. Four years should separate successive crops of aubergines. 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. Fruits are typically cut from the vine just above the calyx owing to the semi-woody stems.
[edit] Other Names
- Aubergine
- Eggplant
- Brinjal
- Baigan in India from the Hindi
- Melongene in Trinidad and Tobago
[edit] See also
- Solanum gilo
- Baba ganoush
- Caviar d'aubergine (French Provencal Cuisine)
- Escalivada (Catalan cuisine)
- Moussaka (Greek cuisine)
- Mutabal (Lebanese cuisine)
- Salată de vinete (Romanian cuisine)
- Thai eggplant
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 Purple eggplants |
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 Eggplant flower |
 The flowers of the Thai eggplant |
 The fruit of the Thai eggplant. The white residue on the leaves is common. |
 A long slender aubergine. |
[edit] External links
- Aubergine: Plants for a Future database
