Chef’s Secret to GREAT Eggplant!
DirtFarmerJay DirtFarmerJay
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 Published On Jan 22, 2022

Eggplant can be really delicious - but make sure you do THIS before preparing ANY eggplant dish!

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Eggplant is a versatile vegetable that plays well in so many dishes. It can be prepared in a variety of ways. Our favorites are eggplant lasagna (where lightly fried eggplant takes the place of lasagna noodles), eggplant parmesan, fried eggplant with cornmeal crust, and the middle eastern dish, baba ganoush (similar to hummus, but prepared with eggplant.

While this vegetable (it is technically a fruit) is commonly called eggplant in the U.S., it is known in other parts of the world by various names, including guinea squash, brinjal, or melongene. It is native to India and Southeast Asia.

No matter what dish you are going to prepare, eggplant has a naturally bitter flavor. That’s because Eggplant is a member of the same plant family as tobacco, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and even Belladonna, AKA, NightShade. In fact, these are all part of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). As such, eggplant has nicotine in its seeds as well as the flesh. Nicotine, in small doses, is not especially toxic, but it sure doesn’t taste good!

Cooking helps reduce the bitter taste, but we take it one step further. In fact, we don’t make ANY eggplant dish without leaching out as much nicotine as we can by salting the raw fruit before preparing it. To do this, simply sprinkle salt generously on the cut fruit, placed in a bowl, as you go. By osmosis, the nicotine will release in the resulting saltwater and collect in the bottom of the bowl. After about 30 minutes to an hour, we drain and rinse the pieces and pat them dry.

Not only will the eggplant taste better, but the eggplant will be softened more, making the texture even better! Even as important, salted and pressed eggplant will soak up significantly less fat when cooking, so it will be less greasy and have a superior consistency.

Try it the next time you cook eggplant! If you’ve given up on eggplant, give it another try using this method and see if you don’t become an eggplant fan!

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