The Cornucopia Corner The Colorful World of Eggplants

By Steffie Littlefield

dding color to your diet is even more fun because it adds variety to the garden. Eggplants come from the nightshade family and while most are a purple color, there are varieties that have different shades or are even lavender, white or orange. They all have a meaty, spongy texture. The most common are called globe eggplants, also known as American eggplants. They are defined by their deep purple color that is also quite shiny.

‘Black Beauty’

If you take globe eggplants and compact them, you now have Italian eggplants. With a similar color, this variety is squattier www.greenscapegardens.com

Aand smaller and a bit sweeter. Their texture holds up well when baked. From Italy we also get the lovely Rosa Bianca eggplants with a more subdued, lilac color. They are quite wide but shorter than other varieties. Rosa Bianca eggplants are not at all bitter, which makes them a favorite among home cooks. Lovely sliced thick, coated with olive oil and grilled.

A very poplar eggplant to grow is originally from Japan. These long, thin eggplants can be used for all sorts of dishes, including stir-fries.

One of the most versatile eggplants is hard to find in stores, so is fun to grow in your garden. Indian eggplants are almost round in shape. The shape and texture are suitable to stuffing like peppers as well as cutting into cubes for soups and vegetable sautés.

For a very different vegetable try the easy-to-grow Thai Eggplants, which are small and orb-like, and while they can be purple, they can also be green. Thai eggplants have a slightly more bitter taste than other varieties of eggplants, although this can be remedied if you remove their seeds before cooking. They are often paired with curries.

Steffie Littlefield is a St Louis area horticulturist and garden designer. She has degrees from St. Louis Community College at Meramec and Southeast Missouri State and is a member of Gateway Professional Horticultural Association, Missouri Botanical Garden Members Board and past president of the Horticulture Co-op of Metropolitan St. Louis. She is part-owner of Edg-Clif Winery, Potosi, MO. www.EdgClif.com, and teaches a class on viticulture at SLCC-Meramec.

Thai Green

Frog Fingers

Barbarella eggplants come from Turkey and are an extremely deep purple color, almost looking like black in certain parts of the day. They are unique in that their texture resembles bread, and can be used as a substitute for those who are gluten-intolerant. Wonderful for baking in casseroles like lasagna. There are also Turkish Orange eggplants, which have a small, orb shape to them. This variety better resembles a tomato, thanks to its red-orange hue.

Santana eggplants are so large that one eggplant is sure to feed a family for quite a few meals. These eggplants are very pretty with a tear drop shape and deep purple. They are often grilled as the slices don’t split open during cooking and thus retain their shape.

Little Green eggplants are both little and green. They have a cute, round shape to them that makes them simply adorable. The only problem is that it can be hard to know when they are ripe, thanks to their color. The wonderful mild flavor adapts well to what they are being cooked with. Furthermore, they have a creamy texture to them, making them perfect for stir-fries

My favorite is the White Eggplant. Creamy with no bitterness from the skin. As you would expect from their name, White eggplants are completely white. However, they are the same, long shape as standard American eggplants.

Most eggplants are easily started from seeds and are a pleasure to grow with sturdy stems and charming fuzzy leaves. They don’t take a lot of space in a small garden and really do well in containers with their pretty flowers and fruit. Protect them from beetles with peppermint oils and give the small plants a good dose of worm castings and you will be eating healthy all summer.