As favorite summer fruit, eggplant can be found globally in almost any supermarket, just waiting to be grilled, stuffed, baked, fried, and eaten in a wide selection of dishes.
However, the eggplant we are most accustomed to seeing, (the long, curved purple fruit in the food-emoji section of your smartphone), is not the same eggplant that our predecessors grew. In fact, eggplant exists in so many strains that you can find it in violet, white, green, yellow, red, and even pink, (not to count a dozen different shapes and flavors).
Eggplant’s origin points somewhere along the large stretch of land from India to China, speckling the Southeastern Asian coast over two thousand years ago. Vividly green and shaped like a small baseball, the plant was bitter and covered in spiky skin, a common natural protection that has been bred out of many plants to make harvesting easier. Unappealing for consumption, the plant was likely used for medicinal study. The Chinese targeted color, size, and flavor through centuries of selective breeding, resulting in the many shapes, colors and flavors we see today. In fact: color was targeted because eggplant is easily bruised, and the marks show up easily on light colors making the produce unappealing.
For centuries, eggplant was an ornamental plant in some parts of the world, like America, and was grown in gardens simply to show off the deep hues of purple. It wasn’t until the late 19th or early 20th century with the arrival of immigrants from other cultures that eggplant was even consumed in America. Now, eggplant has a strong foothold in global cuisine, and a rainbow of colored eggplants are consumed all around the world.
Here are some of my favorite Eggplant Recipes!
Thyme and Dijon Mustard Chicken with Vegetable Bolognese
http://www.cindystable.com/recipes/item/one-pot-grilled-steak-and-vegetables
Eggplant and Turkey Meatloaf Parmesan
Tomato Covered Pasta and Eggplant Bolognese Bake
Meat kabobs with Baba Ganoush Dip
Vegetable Loaded Eggplant Lasagna