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Eggplant
Eggplant is one of the most popular vegetables
especially for Middle Easters. There’s the regular eggplant and the long
eggplant (black and white) which vary significantly in their use. What is
mentioned in this section is regarding regular eggplant.
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Buying tip
Select the ones that are average in size,
firm, shiny, have smooth and unbroken skin with no rusts. |
Best season
Usually available all-year round but tend
to get bitter with a lot of seeds in November till January. |
Peeling eggplant
Cutting eggplant
Frying eggplant
Storing eggplant
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Cutting
eggplant
Eggplants are usually cut after peeling unless
otherwise specified. While cutting eggplant, keep it constantly soaked in
a bowl of water and salt to prevent it from turning black.
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Slices: Cut off the green top. Slice
eggplant horizontally or vertically but try to avoid the areas with seeds.
Exclude the slices that contain a lot of seeds; they taste bitter. |
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Cubes:
Cut eggplant into slices 1.5 cm thin. Cut each slice into sticks 1.5 cm
thin, then cut the sticks to into uniform cubes. |
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Tip
Female eggplants tend to have more seeds which
make the eggplant taste bitter. To identify male from female eggplants,
look at the flap at the bottom. If it is deep and looks like a dash, then
it’s a female. If it is shallow and round, then it’s a male. Also smaller
eggplants tend to be less bitter.
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Frying eggplant
Always deep-fry eggplant slices or cubes in a
deep container of oil over very high heat. It fries really quickly. Get it
out of oil when it just turns golden, don’t over fry. Leave to drain well
on kitchen paper. Eggplants have the tendency to absorb oil.
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Storing eggplant
Store eggplants fresh and unpeeled at room
temperature in a dry well ventilated place for 2 days. You can also keep
them in the refrigerator drawer for 2-3 days. In general, it is not
recommended to store eggplant.
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