Eggplant, despite its unique taste, rarely suffers criticism: it is easy to cook and becomes a delight in any dish.
But this lilac vegetable was not always grown for the sake of taming the appetite: its beautiful flowers adorned hedges of houses, and the fruits for some time were even considered poisonous. Moreover, for an Italian man, eggplant in a dish could become a reason for divorce from his wife who cooked it.
But it was in Italy that over time they learned to use eggplant as a culinary ingredient – the classic lasagna is an example of this. In terms of content, eggplant is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals, which has bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties. And the poisonous substance, which was so feared in ancient times, is contained in the peel of overripe fruits, which, in principle, is easy to get rid of – you just need to soak the eggplant before cooking in a large amount of water.
Despite the variety of species on our market, there are several rules for buying good eggplants:
1. Good eggplants are dense, heavy, elastic, their skin is glossy and free from damage and spots. Dark spots may indicate that the eggplants have been plucked for a long time and they have been stored for a long time.
2. Choose male eggplants, as opposed to female ones, they have fewer seeds and are denser in flesh. You can distinguish boys from girls as follows: if on the eggplant at the base, a small round fossa is a female, and a large oval fossa is male. If there are only “girls” on the counter, take the smaller ones.
3. Summer, grown in the ground, eggplants bitter more than those grown in winter in greenhouses. But summer vegetables are definitely tastier and more flavorful. You can get rid of the bitterness of eggplant by cutting them into circles and sprinkling them with salt. After half an hour, you will need to thoroughly rinse the vegetables. The second way is to pour boiling water over the eggplants and hold for a couple of minutes, drain the water and then start cooking.
How to cook and store
Eggplants have the ability to absorb a lot of oil when they are fried. Therefore, it is best to cook them under the lid. This forms a golden brown crust, which will prevent the oil from absorbing too much.
Before marinating the eggplants, bake them whole in the oven – so they absorb more of the marinade and turn out to be more juicy and tasty.
Eggplant perfectly tolerates freezing, preserving nutrients and vitamins. Frozen eggplant is stored throughout the year, giving you the opportunity to enjoy your favorite eggplant dishes all year round.
Store the eggplants in a dark and cool place without completely closing the bag. Eggplants dry quickly or wither in the air, and they will stay in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.