Eggplant

The eggplant, scientifically known as Solanum melongena, is known by many names. “Eggplant” is predominantly used in North America and Australia. However, the eggplant is known throughout the world by several other English names. In the Caribbean it’s called “melongene” and in South Africa, West Indies, and several other places, they call it “brinjal.” In Great Britain it’s known as “aubergine.” That word has been used by designers in the U.S. to describe the color eggplant as it sounds more aristocratic.

While botanically classified as a berry, it’s a member of the nightshade family and is thus related to both tomatoes and potatoes. It is also related to tobacco. The stem often has spines and the fruit grows from a white or purple flower. While purple is the color predominately associated with eggplant, they actually come in a wide variety of colors which include black, green, red, white, yellow, gradient colors and even striped as well as purple.

While many people find eggplant delicious and it’s often used as a meat substitute, especially for vegetarian and vegan dishes, it’s actually low in most vitamins and minerals as well as protein and fiber. The one nutrient it’s best at supplying is manganese, but even with that, it’s only 11% of your daily allowance. In addition, eggplant is high in histamines and as much as 10% of the population may be allergic, though cooking it thoroughly greatly reduces the incidents of allergic reactions.

Eggplant is a delicious and fascinating food. There’s much more to know about the eggplant, for example, centuries ago, it was commonly believed to cause insanity. But today, people just think you’re crazy if you don’t like it. Try a new eggplant recipe today!

This information was gathered from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant