Eggplant belongs to the nightshade family, just like peppers, tomatoes, potatoes as well as sweet potatoes. Furthermore, eggplant is technically a fruit, and just like other nightshade plants, there are different types of eggplants. These days, you can easily find various assortment in your local market. While it is often known as eggplant in most parts of the world, this plant is referred to as aubergine in the U.K.
However, what does eggplant taste like? If you have never eaten eggplant before, you must be wondering how it tastes. Fortunately, in this article, I shall be answering the question, what does eggplant taste like? The chef’s explainer is giving you an in-depth detail of its taste. With that said, let’s get started on today’s topic.
What does eggplant taste like?
Eggplant has a distinctive taste, and due to this, some individuals love it while others don’t; however, it is a frequent guest to most people’s tables. Usually, a raw eggplant features a mildly bitter taste. When cooked, its taste is easily altered since it can absorb flavors and oils from its ingredients. Furthermore, it has a similar taste irrespective of the type of eggplant you purchase.
Despite having a distinctive taste, you can compare eggplant to the taste of zucchini. Therefore, you should expect a mild and bland flavor. However, when combined with other types of vegetables available in the market, you will be able to come up with a flavorful ingredient.
Nowadays, eggplants are being cultivated to make them less bitter than ever before. Since this is still in process, you might end up purchasing a bitter one. In addition to that, the female eggplants are said to be bitter water and seeds than the male eggplants.
To enhance the taste of your eggplant, you should consider getting rid of the bitter water from its flesh using salt. This is a highly effective and affordable method you can do at home. While it might not be practical after being salted, eggplants tend to act like sponges upon being mixed with liquids or oils and juices from food. Therefore, its flesh absorbs flavor from your ingredients, which helps in enhancing its taste significantly depending on your needs.
What are eggplants used for?
Although most people use eggplant in sautéing or stuffing, it is undoubtedly a highly versatile fruit that can be used as a part or in preparing the following;
- Steamed dishes
- Dips and spreads
- Stews
- Baked dishes
- Grilled meals
- Casseroles
- Soups
Due to its bland and naturally mellow flavor, you can use eggplants in flexing your food creativity. This means that you can use eggplants to enhance the flavor of your dishes.
Benefits of using eggplant
Eggplant is full of vital nutrients from fiber to vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals, making it one healthy fruit. The nutritional content of eggplant will undoubtedly improve your overall well-being through various incredible health benefits. It was even used as a traditional medicine to help manage various health problems such as bronchitis and asthma. With that said, let’s go through some of its health benefits.
Improves bone strength
Eggplant’s vital nutrients include magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, vitamin K2, and potassium which are vital for improving bone strength, bone fragility and protecting one against osteoporosis. Eggplant is an excellent source of these vital nutrients, making it ideal for improving your bone well-being.
Improves heart as well as cardiovascular health
Eggplant contains anthocyanin, a polyphenol antioxidant that is often found in various plants and effectively protects your heart’s well-being. The skin of the eggplant is said to be rich in anthocyanin, which makes it an excellent fruit for improving your cardiovascular health. in addition to that, its benefit to improving heart’s well-being thanks to its sufficient content of vitamin C, potassium as well vitamin B6. The best part is that you can access these vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants when you cook or consume your eggplant raw.
Protects gastrointestinal health
When you consume 100 grams of eggplant, you will receive 12% of the recommended dietary allowance of fiber, making it ideal for improving your fiber intake. Sufficient dietary fiber intake helps improve digestion significantly hence maintaining a healthy bowel movement, and with eggplant, you are guaranteed to receive that every single time.
Aids in weight management
Eggplant has high water content and fiber content that aids in suppressing appetite. In addition to that, it is significantly less in calories, making it an excellent food to add to your diet if you are looking for a way of controlling calories in your diet. To enhance satiety, you might consider pairing avocado with eggplant; this makes it an excellent combo for weight loss.
Fights anemia
Various vital nutrients aid in the production of blood cells, such as copper. Vitamin B9 and iron. Usually, anemia is linked to a deficiency in one of the above nutrients; therefore, having eggplant regularly will help your combat anemia with the utmost ease.
How to store eggplants?
Like other fruits, eggplants have a short shelf-life; therefore, proper storage is required to boost their longevity. If you are thinking of storing your eggplant in a fridge, you will need to think twice. Eggplants are very sensitive to temperature levels below 10 degrees Celsius or 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, you will need to store it in an excellent location and away from direct sunlight.
Although storing it in your fridge will allow it to last for days when covered with a dry bag, it will last even longer when stored at room temperature without covering it. Therefore, you should avoid storing it in your fridge for it to last for an extended period.
Final verdict
A raw eggplant has a bitter and bland taste; however, you can constantly improve its taste depending on the ingredients you use in preparing it. This allows you to prepare an array of dishes that will best suit your needs. In addition to that, eggplants have various health benefits making them one of the must-have fruits in your dishes. With that said, I hope that you have found this article beneficial.
