My Selection Of Eggplant

Mark

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Mark submitted a new Showcase Item:

My Selection Of Eggplant

After a poor start late last year, my eggplants are now flourishing! I had a few plants die suddenly so I simply tried growing them in areas which haven't had eggplant before or for a long time and this has worked a treat.

We're making eggplant lasagna, stuffed eggplant, grilled eggplant, roasted eggplant and the list goes on...

I was able to grow a second lot of productive plants in the same season using the seed from the first plantings and I'm amazed at how fast they have grown. This is my best eggplant season to date.

Read more about this showcase item here...
 

Tim C

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A bloody boring plant in my opinion... Yet I got some to try and grow-Long Reds. The Blacks from the shop(eggplants, that is) I got for seed, but they obviously need to be further bush-matured or are hybrids-no seeds. I put them in a stir-fry, but...nah. I know the old Greeks and Eyeties use-em heaps, but apart from drowning in olive oil turped-up with herbs I am yet to find a style I like. I'm hoping my homegrowns may have some unique flavour-unlike the cardboard flavour I seem to be able to reproduce well.
 

Mark

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A bloody boring plant in my opinion... Yet I got some to try and grow-Long Reds. The Blacks from the shop(eggplants, that is) I got for seed, but they obviously need to be further bush-matured or are hybrids-no seeds. I put them in a stir-fry, but...nah. I know the old Greeks and Eyeties use-em heaps, but apart from drowning in olive oil turped-up with herbs I am yet to find a style I like. I'm hoping my homegrowns may have some unique flavour-unlike the cardboard flavour I seem to be able to reproduce well.
Grilling brings out the flavour best I reckon. They can also be used as a great substitute for pasta sheets in a lasagna. I like to add eggplant to vegetable curries because it acts as a natural sauce thickener.
 

Mary Playford

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I planted some from seeds and I think they are just lazy why I haven’t seen them yet. I don’t get it, some say they are easy to grow and the volunteers growing in my garden friend’s garden have a better chance than my lazy lot LOL. I hope to have some growing in my garden one of these days.
 

Tim C

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I still have long red seeds. I better have another go at propagating them, now the weather has warmed up.
 

Joseph Isaac

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Eggplants! I love them. I usually make eggplant salad every morning. I like that round variety of eggplant! I've never seen one in real life though and the color white eggplant fascinates me. I also wonder if long red variety would be available or thrive here. I want to amuse my neighbors.lol
 

OskarDoLittle

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I'm growing a small Thai variety ATM see how they go - haven't flowered yet...

So Mark how did your Thai eggplant go in the end? Mine are flowering at the moment...but I can't tell if any fruiting is occurring as yet. The plants are quite pretty with very cute little purple flowers. I like them roasted and served with a larb style salad. (Love my Thai food :) )
 

OskarDoLittle

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Funny how eggplant, which is kinda bland - but still great (imho) - is such a polarising thing...my other half won't eat them at all apparently...so I hide them in things like lasagna (along with a truckload of other veg) and curries. Either he doesn't notice, or doesn't comment on the aubergine, but always says the meal was great. Maybe he's just crazy polite!
 

Mark

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I found the Thai eggplant fruit to be ok but not great...

Firstly they need to be eaten when just ripe and not left to mature too much because they get woody and full of seed.

Secondly, they are pretty small so preparing them is a little more finicky than the larger varieties.

Having said that, it's still a good plant and easier to grow than other eggplants plus it has a good strong frame to be grown without staking.

My favorite way to prepare and eat eggplant is salted and then lightly grilled in cm wide pieces preserved in oil with garlic.
 

ClissAT

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Because I like eggplants it reminded me to post some recipes that I used to like making.
I'm posting them in the recipe section.
I say 'used to like making' because it turned out to not only be very healthy but also very fattening!
So I had to stop making these things.
But for those who never put on weight or can stop at just one, go ahead & fill your faces! ;)
 

OskarDoLittle

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I found the Thai eggplant fruit to be ok but not great...

Firstly they need to be eaten when just ripe and not left to mature too much because they get woody and full of seed.

Secondly, they are pretty small so preparing them is a little more finicky than the larger varieties.

Having said that, it's still a good plant and easier to grow than other eggplants plus it has a good strong frame to be grown without staking.

My favorite way to prepare and eat eggplant is salted and then lightly grilled in cm wide pieces preserved in oil with garlic.
Ummm, I thought they were picked a little under ripe and eaten raw, or halved/quartered and chucked into a curry! If the seeds go brown, they're over ripe...it's a bit like eating a squash while the skin and seeds are tender, as opposed to. Letting them mature when the skin hardens up, and the seeds become tough. (I still like them like this...you just dig out the seeds before cooking and use a fork for scrape out the cooked flesh, the way you would for gem squash.) have we got any Thai's or Loatians on the forum?!! Perhaps they could advise !
 

Mark

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I'm posting them in the recipe section.
Oh great! I'm looking forward to seeing then and trying them out :twothumbsup:
If the seeds go brown, they're over ripe...it's a bit like eating a squash while the skin and seeds are tender, as opposed to. Letting them mature when the skin hardens up, and the seeds become tough.
You're absolutely right. Best eaten young yes and very good in curries especially as a thickener.
 

Shannon Robinson

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I think that many people misunderstand the nature of eggplant. They are not all the same. Unfortunately the blandest variety, in my opinion is black beauty. This is the one we all recognize. Pretty and shiny, but blah. Different types taste different and the recipe chosen requires a specific type of eggplant/aubergine. Curries can use small ones that hold their shape or melt into an spiced purée. Babaganoush needs a melting type, like Casper. Ping tung types are tender but hold up, so are good in braised spicy Asian dishes. Italian and French recipes may need a cutlet type like Rosa Bianca or romanesca to make slices into steaks for items like eggplant Parmesan, or put into ratatouille. Match the character of the individual variety to the proper recipe and it’s heavenly. Cutlet style varieties grow slowest, while melters are fastest and most prolific. Small ones and pingtung are in the middle. They do start off very slowly, but when it gets hot, they take off. I start my seeds in January in a greenhouse inside a greenhouse on heat mats to get them off to an early start. The have to be at the 4-5 leaf stage prior to planting out in the garden as earwigs love them. One or two cutlet style plants, and one of each other type is usually more than enough for any family with 4 aubergine eaters, unless you want aubergine daily. Grow more accordingly. I don’t prune my plants, but they do get nibbled on by earwigs, so they may be pruning them for me. I have a load of heat and a long frost free season so I am usually sick of them by the first winter frost. I wash and chop then freeze any that can be used in curries overwinter, then use from frozen. They love mulch and regular water. Harvest as soon as it’s ready to eat, which is when it’s shiny. Dull is over mature and isn’t really worth eating. I pick mine small and early to encourage higher production earlier in the season.
 
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