The eggplant is a plant of the family Solanaceae and genus Solanum.  Therefore, it is a member of the “nightshade” family and related to the potato, tomato, morning glory, paprika, cayenne and tobacco. As a nightshade, it belongs to a diverse group of foods, herbs, shrubs and trees of which there are 2,800 species.

Though commonly thought of as a vegetable, eggplant is actually a fruit and botanically classified as a berry.  The eggplant is native to India and has been cultivated in Southern and eastern Asia since prehistory. The first known written record of the eggplant (not necessarily the one we consume in the United States) is found in an ancient Chinese agriculture treatise completed in 544. The lack of ancient Greek and Roman names and the numerous Arabic and North African names suggest that the eggplant was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early middle Ages.

Production of eggplant is highly concentrated with 85 percent of output coming from five countries.  China is the top producer (56 percent); India is second (26 percent), Egypt, Turkey and Indonesia round out the top producing nations. In total around the world, there are 4 million acres devoted to the cultivation of eggplant.  In the United States, Georgia is the largest producing state.

There are many varieties of eggplant found throughout the world.  The plants produce fruit of different sizes, shapes and colors, though typically they are some shade of purple.  We have, however, on rare occasion, seen an orange eggplant. Somewhat easier to find today is the very narrow, straight Japanese or Asian eggplant, the Italian or baby eggplant (a miniature version of the common large variety), the egg-shaped white eggplant and the small, round purple striated Thai variety.

Eggplant can be prepared in a myriad of ways to include baking, frying, broiling and grilling. Traditionally, recipes would suggest salting, rinsing and draining the sliced fruit not only to soften it, but to reduce the amount of fat absorbed during cooking. Anyone who has ever fried sliced eggplant knows it can drink up to several times its weight in oil! This is primarily due to the very spongy texture of its tissue; a high proportion of its volume consists of intercellular air pockets. The collapse of the structural tissue and the resulting fat absorption is a result of the heat of the pan and oil into which the fruit is submerged. Because of the sponge- like capacity to soak up oil, care must be taken to coat the sliced eggplant with batter or a crumb mixture.

It is the work of an enzyme known as polyphenoloxidase which causes oxidization in the tissue of the eggplant (or avocado, apple or banana for that matter) when sliced or bruised. The resulting brownish or grayish discoloration is simply a chemical reaction — the outcome of condensed tissue (not simply the action of oxygen in the air). Interestingly, a similar kind of enzymatic activity is responsible for the

“browning” of humans when exposed to the sun.

The eggplant contains numerous small, soft seeds, and while edible is often bitter because they contain nicotinoid alkaloids, unsurprising as mentioned above because of it close relative — tobacco. And, this fruit is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant known to mankind. However, you would need to consume approximately 20 lbs. of eggplant to achieve the same amount of nicotine as from one cigarette!

At Cindy Lutini’s we thinly slice our young eggplant, lightly coat it in olive oil and quickly grill it for our popular Grilled Eggplant Parmesiano-Reggiano or Grilled Vegetable Lasagne. Also a hit as a cold antipasto is our Caponata, a Sicilian eggplant stew of sorts, complete with tomatoes, capers, red onion, garlic, green olives, fresh oregano and parsley and good quality herb vinegar and olive oil. We excitedly anticipate the coming months as we love to assembly Ratatouille — that classic Provencal vegetable dish. We use any number of the freshest ingredients: eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, asparagus, mushrooms, new potatoes and fresh basil.  

Remember the children’s movie “Ratatouille” — we have the same chef!!

— Cindy Shultz is the owner and chef at Cindy Lutini’s Pasta for Life. She holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.A. from John Carroll University.