Eggplant

Aubergine
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Tracheobionta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Subclass:	Asteridae
Order:	Solanales
Family:	Solanaceae
Genus:	Solanum
Species:	S. melongena
Binomial name
	Solanum melongena; L.

The Aubergine (Solanum melongena), also known as the Eggplant or the Brinjal, is related to the tomato and potato. Though commonly thought of as a vegetable, it is actually a fruit. Belonging to the genus Solanum, it 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.

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 around 1500. The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, and the lack of ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate that it was carried throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages. The scientific name melongena derives from a 16th-century Arabic name for one kind of aubergine. The aubergine is referred to as the "eggplant" in the United States and Canada. This came from the fact that the fruit of some early varieties were all white and looked like hen's eggs. Because of its relation to the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, it was at one time belived to be poisonous.

Cultivated varieties

A purple aubergine which has been sliced in half, showing the inside. The flesh surrounding the seeds is already beginning to oxidize and turn brown just minutes after slicing.

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 are grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. There, cultivars that closely resemble a chicken 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 eggplant are commonly shaped like a narrower, slightly pendulous cucumber. The name 'eggplant' dates to the 1700s, when the most common European cultivars of the fruit were white or yellow, and roughly the size and shape of a goose egg.

Aubergine is the British name given to this fruit. This name comes from the French aubergine, derived from Catalan albergínia, from Arabic al-bAdhinjAn, from Persian بادنجان Bâdinjân, the eggplant.

Numerous other names are used, many derived from the Sanskrit vatinganah, which has produced a number of names for this plant in various languages: brinjal, badingan, melongena, melanzana, berenjena, albergínia, aubergine, brown-jolly, and mad-apple (misinterpretation of Italian melanzana as mela insana).

Oval or elongated oval shaped, black skinned cultivars include, 'Harris Special Hibush', 'Burpee Hybrid', 'Black Magic', Classic', Dusky', and 'Black Beauty'.

Long, slim shaped 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'.

Culinary characteristics

The raw fruit has a somewhat disagreeable taste, but, when cooked, becomes tender and develops a rich, complex flavour and firm texture. Salting and then rinsing the sliced aubergine can also remove much of its bitterness. It is especially useful culinarily owing to its ability to absorb great amounts of cooking fats, allowing for very rich dishes. The fruit flesh is smooth; the numerous seeds are soft and (as in the related Tomato) edible along with the rest of the fruit.

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish which can be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice, potatoes, or simply French bread), or as a side dish. Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with onions, zucchini (courgettes), eggplant (aubergine) and sweet peppers (capsicum) also typically included. All are sautéed in olive oil.

The aubergine has a high moisture content, which must be taken into account during preparation. Specifically, the excess liquid which comes off the aubergine during cooking typically must be drained and/or absorbed (such as with dry parmesan cheese).

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. Seeds are typically started eight to ten weeks prior to the frost free date.

Many pests and diseases which afflict other solanaceous vegetables, i.e. tomato, pepper (capsicum), potato, etc. are also troublesome in 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 potato beetle, flea beetle, aphids and spider mites. Many of these can be controlled using Bacillus thurengensis (Bt) which is a bacterium that attacks the soft bodied larvae. Adults can be controlled by hand removal. Flea beetles can be especially difficult to control. Good sanitation on crop rotation practices are extremely important in controlling fungal disease in aubergines, the most serious of which is Verticillium.

Plants should be spaced 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 due to the semi woody stems.