Eggplant

Solanum melongenaAlso called aubergine, eggfruit and mad apple

Eggplant is a fruit that cooks treat as a vegetable. It has a spongy texture, tastes bitter when raw, and becomes tender when cooked. Cooks bake, grill, roast, or stuff it, and pair it with turmeric or cinnamon.

Plant-based
Gluten-free
No listed allergens

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Category: Vegetables
Part used: Fruit
Family: Solanaceae
Texture: Spongy, tender
Cooked most in: Asia, Africa
Top country: Indonesia
Dishes: 11 in the catalogue
Energy: 26 kcal per 100 g

Photo: Fructibus · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use eggplant

Typical ways to cook or use it

Bake
Braise
Deep fry
Grill
Paste blend
Pickle
Preserve
Roast
Shallow fry
Steam
Stew
Stir fry
Stuff

Preparing it

Remove the green calyx before cooking. The skin and seeds are edible, so peeling and deseeding are unnecessary. Rinse, drain and salt slices before cooking to potentially reduce bitterness.

Cooking with it

The flesh absorbs cooking fats and sauces.

Goes well with

Flavour

Taste and texture

Taste, raw profile of eggplant

Sweet0

Sour0

Salty0

Bitter3

Umami0

Texture

Spongy

Texture, cooked

Tender

Shopping

Choosing and storing eggplant

Choosing a good one

For Iranian cooking, look for an eggplant that is long, straight, firm and black.

Nutrition

What 100 g of eggplant holds

Per 100 g, raw. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 13%Fat 2%Carbohydrate 85%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of eggplant, raw
Energy	26 kcal · 104 kJ
Protein	0.85 g
Fat	0.12 g
of which saturated	0.03 g
Carbohydrate	5.4 g
of which sugars	2.4 g
Fibre	2.4 g
Sodium	0.44 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg

Nutrition per 100 g of eggplant, raw: minerals and vitamins
Potassium	222 mg
Calcium	11 mg
Magnesium	14 mg
Zinc	0.12 mg
Vitamin C	0.8 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)	1 µg
Folate	20 µg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (foods 169228, 2685577), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Around the world

Where eggplant is cooked

11 dishes in the catalogue use eggplant. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Asia8
Africa1

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list eggplant among their ingredients.

Origins

The 700s · Spain
Eggplant reached Muslim Spain in the 8th century.
The 1000s · Greece
Eggplant entered Byzantine Greek cooking in the late 11th century.

On the table

Dishes made with eggplant

11 dishes in the catalogue use it.

Kuwah Pliëk U
Indonesia
Kashk e badamjan
Iran
Poqui poqui
Philippines
Bāṭarsh
Syria
Karnıyarık
Türkiye
Kumspî
Dahi baigana
India
Mderbel
Morocco
Beberuk terong
Indonesia
Jruek Drien
Indonesia
Eggplant rolls

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include eggplant.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: eggplant in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.

Allergens: None of the 15 listed allergens foundChecked and not found: soy, eggs, fish, milk, lupin, wheat, celery, sesame, mustard, peanuts, molluscs, sulphites, tree nuts, crustaceans, gluten cereals.
Animal origin: No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Gluten: None
Alcohol: None
Caffeine: None
Pork: None