How to Prepare Eggplant (Aubergines) for Cooking and How to Choose the Best Ones

Although eggplants (Aubergines) originated in Asia, they feature in dishes from every Mediterranean country. The plump purple variety is the most common. Scroll below to see the nutrients and calories in Eggplant (Aubergines).

How to Prepare Eggplants for Cooking

Some people believe sliced eggplants should be salted for about 30 minutes and drained before cooking, which helps to extract bitter juices. Others maintain that this is unnecessary. Salting does stop the eggplants from absorbing large quantities of oil during cooking though, so on balance it seems worth doing.

How to Choose Eggplants (Aubergines)

When buying eggplants, look for specimens that feel quite heavy for their size, as a light eggplant may indicate a dry, spongy inside and could well contain a lot of seeds. Also look for firm, taut, shiny-skinned ones with green stalks. Do not buy eggplants with wrinkled or damaged skins.

How to Store Eggplants (Aubergines)

Eggplants will keep in the fridge for up to a week and are very versatile vegetables. You can also store them frozen raw or freeze them after they are cooked.

How to Cook Eggplants (Aubergines)

They can be grilled, baked, stuffed, stewed and sauteed, either on their own or with other vegetables and since they absorb flavors well, they can be used with most seasonings.

Glossy and good to eat, eggplants are among the most popular Mediterranean vegetables.