subject: Ever Heard of Aubergines? [print this page] Have you ever been introduced to a person who other claim is your childhood friend? At first you may ask who? And at times the what, where, when and how follows. If aubergine was a person, will you be able to recognize it? If yes, I praise and bow to you. If no, we are on the same boat. And this is because in reality, aubergine is an ordinary fruit that are sometimes served in our dinner table.
So now, let me introduce Aubergine using his other name which it Eggplant. Aubergine is the word used mostly in some of the Canadian and American part of the world. In addition, in Italy, eggplant goes by the name "melanzana", while in India and South Africa it is known as "brinjal".
If we look at eggplants, our common notion is that they are vegetables, but in reality they are fruits. Another contributing factor to the confusion is that eggplants are used together with vegetables. They are very much associated to nightshade plants, examples of which are peppers, tomatoes and potatoes. Eggplants or aubergines are a member of the berry family of fruits.
As for the different selection of aubergines, the North America variety has a deep purple glossy skin, and a shape that looks like a mixture between a pear and an egg. Aside from these, other selections of aubergines have colors that range from orange to lavender and from yellow-white to jade green.
As for the origin of eggplants, early accounts show that they were cultivated and grown in China in the 5th century BC. Afterwards, they were transported to Africa and then Italy in the 14th century.
At present, Italy, Egypt, Japan and China are the main suppliers of eggplants. However, due to the bitter taste of earlier variety of eggplants they were mainly used as ornamental plants in Europe. But eventually, due to breeding, there are varieties of eggplants that are now used in popular dishes like Moussaka and Ratatouille.
