它是什么？

尽管它被视为蔬菜，但茄子（茄子和西红柿和土豆的成员）实际上是巨大的浆果。

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) are native to Asia, where they’ve been cultivated since prehistoric times. Traders brought them to the Middle East and Europe starting in the 15th century, though many Europeans refused to eat eggplant up until the 18th century because they’re bitter and are part of the nightshade family. (People thought nightshades, like tomatoes and peppers, caused insanity; eggplant’s Italian name, melanzana, comes from the Latin mela insana, “mad apple.”)

The development of sweeter varieties increased eggplant’s popularity. As eggplant cultivation spread around the world, countless hybrids were created to get the sweetest, firmest vegetable possible, as well as to help them grow in more temperate climates (they’re used to tropical or subtropical environments).

Westernor地球茄子是最常见和通用的品种，您可以全年找到它，尽管在全国大部分地区，旺季是夏末。尽管它需要一些准备，但奖励是一种多汁的柔滑的享受。Globe茄子的较大尺寸使您可以获得切片和块。它的尺寸从3/4磅到1-1/4磅，带有深紫色的皮肤。新鲜的地球茄子的果肉淡淡，带有一些明显的种子，随着茄子的成熟，它们变黑并变得苦。带有黑暗，硬化果肉的茄子和许多深色种子会令人失望 - 必须去除这些部分；否则，成品的味道和质地将受到影响。

除Globe以外的其他品种值得一看。所有人都有嫩的肉和种子，没有一个需要剥皮（除非您要烘烤并将其浸入蘸酱）。这些品种吸收的油不如Globe茄子，也不苦。

Italian eggplant比全球品种小。它是裂片的，带有深紫色的皮肤和绿色的叶子（尽管有些品种有乳白色，柔软的薰衣草，亮紫色，斑驳或条纹）。克拉拉是白色的，有乳脂状，坚果的细微差别，最好烤。罗莎·比安卡（Rosa Bianca）的泪珠形状和斑驳的白色和薰衣草皮；它有点甜，几乎具有蓬松的质地，而且在烤架上也很棒。另外，请尝试面包屑和油炸的明亮紫色比阿特丽斯（Beatrice）。

Chinese eggplantis elongated, slender, and has light purple skin. It’s quick-cooking, which makes it a good candidate for stir-frying.

Japanese eggplantis also elongated, slender, and quick-cooking. This variety has dark purple skin. Its brownish leaves distinguish it from the Italian eggplant.

White eggplant是椭圆形的，带有美丽的蛋壳白色色调；一眼可以告诉您茄子如何赢得它的名字。肉特别奶油，不如深色茄子苦。

Southeast Asianeggplant is the size of a cherry tomato, green-striped or purple. It’s quite bitter and best for pickling.

Small eggplants, also called baby or Indian eggplants, can be as tiny as a walnut or up to a few inches long. They cook quickly and, unlike other types of eggplant, rarely turn bitter, even with age. Use them for pickling or slice them in half and sauté. For braising, try Fairy Tale, which is sweet, tender, and marbled purple and white, and the oval-shaped Calliope, which has lavender and white stripes.

Fairy tale eggplants是新的混合动力车。童话般的品种大约有10年的历史。除了其可爱的外观，风味和质地外，它还可以在陆地小包裹和温带气候上生长良好，并具有相当宽的收获窗口。

童话茄子的长度在1英寸至4英寸之间时会收获。它们的尺寸不会改变其风味或质地，因此购买可用的任何东西或适合您的喜好。

如何选择：

At the market, look for eggplant with smooth, shiny skin that’s unwrinkled and free of brown spots, cuts, or bruises. The fruit should feel firm and spring back slightly when you touch it. Try to find an eggplant with a stem that looks moist, as if recently cut. Soft fruit with a dull peel is likely too mature and will taste bitter.

如何准备：

地球茄子, also called Black Beauty, whose flesh is especially spongelike, tends to soak up more oil than other varieties. If you’ve ever brushed a raw, unsalted slice with oil, you’ve probably noticed how readily the eggplant absorbed it. According to food scientist Harold McGee, salting eggplant flesh and letting it sit for about 30 minutes before cooking draws out water and helps collapse the air pockets in globe eggplant’s spongy flesh. This makes the eggplant much less able to soak up lots of oil during cooking.

Eggplant is one vegetable for which slight undercooking will not work. It must be completely cooked through until it’s meltingly soft, smooth, and creamy; only then will it be flavorful on its own, as well as receptive to the other flavors with which you’ll blend it. Here are some great ways to prepare it:

Frying: This cooking method seems to throw people the most because of how much grease eggplant can soak up. If you’re using globe eggplant, salt it and squeeze it dry; other varieties don’t need salting. Be sure the oil is very hot and put the slices in the pan in one layer (if you crowd the pan, the eggplant will steam instead of fry and won’t cook evenly). Turn often and adjust the heat to avoid burning until the slices are a rich brown color. Drain on paper towels.

Stir-frying: Quick-cooking Japanese and Chinese eggplant are the best candidates for stir-frying. Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes. When the oil is very hot, toss the cubes into the pan with a little salt and stir-fry until the eggplant is a rich brown color.

烧烤：就像油炸时，盐和干燥茄子。用油将切片刷，然后在中型火上烤制，直到变软并煮熟。

Char-roasting: Char-roasting gives eggplant deep, smoky flavor. The charred skin peels off easily. To start, pierce the eggplant with a skewer and cook it whole and unpeeled directly over a grill flame until the skin is blackened all over and the flesh is thoroughly soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Char-roasting can get messy, so if you’re trying this over an indoor gas flame, line the burner trays with foil or try broiling the pierced eggplant instead. Peel off the blackened skin, drain the flesh in a colander, and squeeze out all the moisture.

Oven-roasting: As an alternative to char-roasting, pierce the eggplant in several places and roast it whole and unpeeled on a baking sheet at 350°F until it’s quite soft and starting to collapse, almost an hour. Peel and drain it as you would for char-roasting.

如何存储：

It’s best to use eggplant when it’s very fresh, but it will keep for two or three days in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. Be sure to remove any plastic wrapping before storing eggplant.

Cross Reference

意大利茄子，日本茄子

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