![]() ![]() Kermit hybrid (60) is about the size of a golf ball with green and white stripes. Easter Egg (52) is highly ornamental but has delicious, egg-shaped white fruits. Round, egg-shaped eggplants come in a variety of colors. Two recent All-America Selections Award winners (the first eggplants to win in almost 70 years) are Fairy Tale hybrid (51), with white fruits striped in violet and purple shades, and Hansel hybrid (55), with clusters of glossy, dark purple fruits. Asian Bride (70) has long, thin fruits with pale white outer skins streaked with lavender. Machiaw hybrid (65) resembles a long, thin cucumber with a light purple skin. Orient Charm hybrid (65) has pale lavender, fluorescent pink or pastel pink streaked with white fruits. Millionaire hybrid (60) produces long, glossy black fruits that are almost seedless. Ichiban hybrid (58) produces long deep purple-black fruits on very productive plants. I prefer growing the Japanese varieties because the skins are not as tough. Dusky Hybrid (63) is an improved variety with 5-to-7 inch purple-black fruits. The days to harvest are in parentheses:īlack Beauty (80) is the classic eggplant with deep purple skin and large 8-to-10 inch fruits. These are a few varieties you might want to try. Pay close attention when growing these because they are likely to get old and tough. They have large, deep purple, pear-shaped fruits that are used for stuffing, baking and grilling. The most common type in Utah is the globe or oval eggplants. The five basic shape groups classify them as globe, elongated or cylindrical, egg-shaped, specialty and pea eggplants. One caution is to pick them when they are young and tender. The fruit are ready to harvest 45-90 days after transplanting. They branch well and the leaves are often covered with hair and sometimes have tiny spines.Īlthough the skins are different colors, the flesh is usually creamy white and has tiny seeds of a similar color. Leave enough space because the plants grow up to 4 feet in height with a similar spread. In Utah, eggplants grow as annuals because of the frost, but they are actually tender perennials. ![]() ![]() Colors range from dark purple to white with shades of rose, violet, green, yellow and stripes to add more interest. They include small, pealike, to egg-shaped, to long and slender fruits. Newer varieties are a far cry from the large, globular, purple fruits I grew. Favorites include Greek moussaka, Middle East baba ganoush, Italian eggplant parmigiana, and French ratatouille and Asian stir-fries and curries. I ate them fresh, battered and fried or sliced, because cooking the myriad dishes was beyond my ability. My Greek neighbor shared plants with me when I was young. It met with limited success until the late 1800s when Chinese and Italian immigrants arrived in America and started growing these to prepare their traditional dishes. Thomas Jefferson introduced eggplant to the United States and grew the vegetables in his gardens at Monticello. Like tomatoes, potatoes and other nightshade family plants, it was once viewed as poisonous and grown as an ornamental because of its beautiful purple star-shaped flowers and colorful fruits. It was said to be "as large as pears but with bad qualities."Įven more damaging were myths that eggplants caused fever, epilepsy and even insanity. It was eventually introduced to European tables by Louis XIV during the 1600s, but it received a less than enthusiastic reception. ![]() This vegetable is believed to come to us from India via China and then the Mideast. I must thank the National Garden Bureau for designating the Year of the Eggplant and providing interesting information to learn more about these fascinating vegetables. I have grown and eaten these for years but knew little about them. ![]()
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