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Origins
This often bizarre fruit
of the nightshade family was first reported in cultivation in
China in the early 4th or 5th centuries BC. It seems that it was
probably grown in India and Burma (Myanmar) around the same time.The
dark purple varieties were probably domesticated in Burma and
India. And they probably made their way to Europe, via the Arabs
through Spain, somewhere between the 4th and 7th century AD.
The
French name, aubergine, came from the Catalan alberginia, that
in turn derived itself from the Arabic al-badingan.The English
dubbed it eggplant, which refers to the egg-like shape of the
first ones introduced to that country.Eggplants are not just the
big fat dark-purple things that you get in the supermarket. They
come in white, yellow, striped pinks, orange and red. Shapes range
from small round things through to long thin ones (such as Chinese
Long) and large fat ones.
cow
eating rubbish, India
...
white
eggplants
They can have
a slightly odd texture when prepared and cooked incorrectly, tasting
horrible and giving you gas. They may still give you gas, but
taste a little better, preparing them with the following recipes:
- Soak them
in salty water, dry them, oil (Olive Oil) them, pepper them
and throw them onto a BBQ. The BBQ would preferably have slow
burning coals of some description.
- As above,
but instead of throwing them on the BBQ, fry them rather quickly
in lots of oil, until they are golden brown. Then place them
in baking dish with some just under-cooked zucchini (courgettes),
sweet pumpkin, sweet basil, oregano, crushed garlic, pepper,
perhaps some paprika and freshly crushed ripe tomatoes (all
of these should be available at the same time of the year).
Add some cheese -- depending on your taste -- and some pastry
for the lid. Then pop it into the oven, around 180 Celsius,
until the pastry and vegetables are cooked to your satisfaction.
- Sun-dry
them and place in some type of marinade.
- Go Indian
and make Brinjal pickle. Knowing Indian cuisine only vaguely,
I would suspect that this involves a recipe with masses of chilli
and sugar. If Julie Andrews had made the Sound of Music on the
sub-continent she would have probably exclaimed the merits of
Brinjal, chilli and sugar as, "a few of her favourite things".
The eggplant
is a fascinating vegetable, full of romance. Varanasi, the ancient
Indian holy city on the banks of the Ganges river, would not be
the same without the beggars, lepers, and the friendly ladies
selling Brinjal.
Apparently
in India they also have a recipe where they crush whole charred
eggplant into a powder and use it as a tooth cleaner.
And in Thailand,
and eastern Asia, you have them stacked up in boats that drift
down the rivers.
Of course,
in the West, with our advanced economic system, we put them under
fluorescent lights and have crappy music playing in the background
as we push along a trolley trying to keep the kids away from the
sweets.
So basically
you need to grow these plants in your backyard to fully appreciate
their magical properties. And, if you do not have a backyard,
you should obtain one immediately.
red
eggplant
Eggplant
(aubergine) Cultivation
Some like
it hot, like the Indians. And as with Indians the old eggplant
wants a real hot, long summer.
That's not
to say you cannot grow them in cooler regions.
I was on a
quaint little bio-dynamic farm, in County Wexford, Ireland, a
few years ago and we were able to grow quite acceptable aubergines
in a "poly-tunnel" or plastic covered hot-house in full sun. We
kept them well watered but not damp. A daily flow of water past
their roots is quite acceptable. But they seemed to like the surface
of the soil to be dryish.
Plastic has
been a fine invention for these climatically challenged countries
and we can only hope that more of the Irish adopt the idea of
growing exotic fruits in these things. And someone might inform
the restaurant community in Dublin to get into this trend of preparing
such things so they don't taste like it was cooked by an Irishman.
In warmer
climates they can easily be grown outside in the appropriate season.
Spring in the sub-tropics, and throughout the year in tropical
places.
In these climates
they will tend to be more of a short lived perennial (growing
over two or so years).
They like
to have: well-drained soil, high potash fertilisation (especially
relevant when fruiting), peat, and well broken down compost. I
would tend not to go too overboard with compost or nitrogen --
to avoid them getting to leafy -- look for a balance. This can
only be obtained through trial and error -- or more research if
you are that way inclined.
Eggplants
are moderately deep-rooting and can be grown on a wide range of
soils. They do best on light-textured soils such as sandy loams
or alluvials that are deep and free-draining. These soils warm
up quickly in spring and are more suitable for early plantings.
The optimum soil temperature for growth is between 23 and 32 degrees
celcius. A soil pH in the range 6.0-6.8 is also desirable.
Eggplants
take a long time to set fruit. So be patient. Wait all summer
and reap the rewards.
Eggplants
are a little harder to obtain seeds from than other vegetables.
Some have been breed to have no seeds at all but are still worthy
components of the garden. The interesting ones, however, will
produce seed that you can save.
Plant different
varieties about 10 meters apart and when the fruit is looking
a little sad at the end of the season, pop the bottom half of
the thing into a blender -- at slow speed so as to avoid cutting
the seed -- then wash and pass through a sieve. The seed, that
had been embedded in the fruit, should then make itself more and
more apparent. Once you have the seed as clean as you can get
it, dry it and keep it for next season.
Some interesting
varieties of eggplants to look out for:
Early Long Purple
(for short summers), Easter Egg, Listanda de Gandia, Rose Blanca,
Violette de Firenze, Black Prince, Little Fingers, Laos Striped,
Vietnamese, Black Enorma, Chinese Long, Black Beauty, and New York
Spineless.
More
White Eggplants
A nice pair
of Black Beautys (courtesy of Adobe: though it was their only eggplant
picture when I was looking)
E-mail:greenpaddocks@gmail.com
© J.R.Atwood 2007
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