August 2025 Produce Parable

Understanding Eggplant

By Adam Calder, Wheatsfield Produce Manager

The humble eggplant takes on a leading role during summer meal times. This vegetable (botanically speaking, it is actually a berry) is not much by itself, but paired with other warm-weather staples like basil and tomatoes, and you have got yourself a summer star. If you are not familiar with growing, cooking or eating eggplant, you may have some questions. Where did eggplant come from? How long have people been eating it? What does it taste like?

Eggplant comes from the Solanaceae family (commonly known as the nightshade family), which also includes tomatoes, potatoes and chili peppers. The origins of eggplant are not entirely agreed upon. Wild eggplants exist in Asia and Africa, and have been cultivated in both places since before written history. The first written record of the plant comes from a Chinese poet from two thousand years ago. From Asia, eggplant spread to Muslim, Jewish and Mediterranean communities. By the 18th century, it had made its way to Spain. After another hundred years, it had spread to the rest of the countries in Europe. A hundred years after that, they were introduced to the Americas.

But why call it eggplant? When you buy this vegetable at a store or famers market, it is likely large, bell-shaped, dark purple/black, or striped with purple and white. Those are more recent cultivars of this food. When eggplant was originally domesticated, the fruits were white and about the size of a chicken egg. They really did look like eggs! There are still heirloom varieties, such as Casper, that are small and white. Today there are many options for yellow, green, red, pink and orange eggplants. They can also be long, thin and snake-like in shape.

Nutritionally speaking, eggplant does not have significant amounts of any vitamin or mineral except manganese (and even then, only 10% of the daily value.) The benefits of eggplant come from its culinary adaptability.

There are numerous eggplant dishes spread out amongst all the cultures of the world. The flesh of this fruit has a meaty texture and an absorbent quality that allows it to readily take up oils and sauces, enhancing its flavor greatly. It can be prepared so it eats like a meat substitute, can be battered and deep-fried to make crispy fritters, pureed into soups, sliced and stir-fried. The adaptability of this food in the kitchen is really impressive.

To help you along your journey exploring eggplant, here is a great recipe for Eggplant Parmesan. This is a classic dish, and has been simplified in this recipe so it is not as difficult to prepare (instead of frying the breaded slices of eggplant, they are oven-roasted on a tray with just a couple tablespoons of oil.)