Eggplant

Greenish eggplant

Eggplant is also known as aubergine and brinjal. Eggplant is in the nightshade (solanaceae) family which includes other vegetables like potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and tomatillos. Plants in the nightshade family contain an alkaloid called solanine, which in very large doses can be poisonous. Eggplants contain 11mg of solanine. For an average adult, 2 to 5 mg per kilogram of body weight of solanine would be life threatening. Eggplant solanine content varies from 6.1 to 11.33mg/100g. For a person with a weight of 60Kg, 210 mg of solanine would be poisonous. To get this level of poison one should consume about 2.4 kg of eggplant at a time. This is very unlikely. It is only as much poisonous as potato.
Solanine content of potato is normally between 2 and 13 mg/100g.
Cooking process enables breakdown in fibres and leeching out of the solanine.
The flowers and leaves of eggplant are poisonous and should be avoided.
Eggplant is made up of wide range of shape, size and colour. It could be green, bright pink, purple or white in colour.

Purple eggplant

The cut surface of the flesh rapidly turns brown when the fruit is cut open. You could simply immerse the cut pieces of the eggplant in cold water to prevent the flesh discolouration. You may also add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to the water.

Eggplant will absorb a lot of oil during frying. Many recipes recommend salting, rinsing and draining of the sliced fruit (known as "degorging"). Because of its capability to absorb oils and sauces, you can add many flavours to eggplant dishes. It is a very versatile ingredient for many occasions.

Eggplant contains a lot of seeds. The seeds are soft and are edible. For presentation purposes you may want to remove the seeds or buy seedless variety.

Three different varieties of eggplant

Ratatouille is a famous French dish consisting of baked eggplant, zucchini, squash, bell peppers, onion and tomatoes. Eggplant goes well with Parmesan cheese and Eggplant Parmesan is another famous eggplant recipe and an Italian comfort food.

Some people are allergic to eggplant. Some of the symptoms might include slight itching of the mouth, throat or lips. They also may include itching of the skin, flushing of the face and frequent bouts of sneezing etc. The symptoms reported are so wide that some of them could be due to some other causes than eggplant.

In most cases the eggplant allergy is not life threatening. Most people are not allergic to it. However, to be on the safe side you should observe for any allergic feeling after eating eggplant you should seek medical help or avoid it altogether.

Another variety of eggplant

Eggplant skin is full of fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium and antioxidants. Phenol contained in the eggplant skin makes it a strong free radical scavenger.
Eggplant is ranked among the top 10 vegetables in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capability.
Consumption of eggplant reduces obesity, overall mortality, diabetes and heart disease.
It gives a healthy complexion to the skin and promotes hair growth.
Eggplant lowers cholesterol and cancer risks.
Nasunin, an anthocyanin  found in eggplant skin is a powerful antioxidant which protects membranes in brain cells from free radical damage. Nasunin also has antiangiogenic  properties which will prevent the cancerous cells from increasing their own blood supply.

The nutritional value of egg plant in the USDA database http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2998