Eggplant is a specific vegetable. On the one hand, tasty and unusual dishes are obtained from it, for example, products similar to mushrooms. And on the other hand, if this vegetable is improperly processed, you can spoil the whole dish, as some eggplants are bitter, and so much that they become unfit for food.
To avoid this, you need to choose the right eggplant. Moreover, it is important to determine in advance what they are for - for cooking, frying or canning.
It is best to eat young fruits. The fact is that in eggplant there is solanine, which in concentrated form is a strong poison. By the way, for the same reason, eggplant is not consumed raw. But this does not mean that you need to completely abandon them.
In young eggplants, there is practically no solanine. It accumulates with the growth of this vegetable when seeds begin to ripen in it. Therefore, it is better not to use adult fruits as food.
But what if autumn is the most fertile time for picking eggplants, and they are adults?
How to choose eggplant
They should be strong, with smooth skin, without spots and obvious defects. Shriveled, soft in food is better not to use.
Eggplant should not be large. Large ones are most often overripe, which means bitter due to solanine.
Adult eggplants have a hard skin that, even after cooking, does not become soft. In such instances, hard seeds that spoil the whole dish.
How to pick up
To make the dish delicious, you probably need to be able to pick up products. First of all, you need to decide how you will cook the eggplants. They can be not only simply cooked or fried, but also canned.
If, according to the recipe, the eggplant is cooked with peel, then it must first be young. Such eggplants in finished form will not be bitter, and they will not contain a substance called solanine, which in considerable quantities refers to poisons. In raw form, these vegetables can not be taken.
When choosing vegetables, you should look at their shell, color and determine the degree of softness. It is more advisable to buy eggplant with such properties.
- strong
- the skin should be soft, supple,
- there should be no spots and imperfections on it,
- quality eggplants are dark purple in color.
How to determine the presence of solanine in eggplant
To determine if there is solanine in the eggplant and whether the vegetable will be bitter, it is enough to cut off a small part of it and wait a few minutes.
Eggplant, in which a large concentration of solanine has accumulated, quickly darkens in the air, becoming almost brown on the cut.
Young eggplants without this dangerous substance remain bright, unless they can turn slightly yellow. There are also varieties that are almost devoid of this substance. Such eggplant also does not darken on the cut.
How to remove bitterness (solanine) from eggplant
Eggplant with bitter flesh is first cut into slices, cubes, slices, or otherwise.
Then they are put in a bowl, covered with salt and left for half an hour or an hour. During this time, they will give a plentiful juice, into which all the bitterness will go.
After that, the eggplant is washed several times in cold water. Along with water, almost all seeds are washed out of slices. I must say that in adult eggplants there are a lot of them.
Then put the pieces in a colander or on a paper towel. You can slightly squeeze. And then cook according to the recipe.
If there are few seeds, and the eggplants are bitter, then they are covered with only a small amount of salt, stand for half an hour, then squeeze lightly and cook further.
If there are seeds in the eggplants intended for stuffing, then they are removed along with part of the pulp immediately after the vegetables are cut lengthwise in the form of a boat or across in the form of a barrel.
To remove the bitterness from the eggplant, some housewives soak them in cold water, adding a tablespoon of salt per liter of water. After half an hour, the eggplant is drained from the water, slightly dried and cooked according to your favorite recipe.
To easily remove the skin from eggplant, as well as bitterness, they are pre-blanched in boiling salted water for five minutes. Then they are removed, poured with cold water and peeled.
To remove the peel from the baked fruit, freshly prepared eggplant is laid on a baking sheet, put in the oven and baked for 30–40 minutes. From such semi-finished products very tasty caviar is obtained.
If the eggplant is cooked with skin, for example, stuffed, they are cut in half, pulp is pulled out, dipped in boiling salted water and blanched for five minutes. Then recline in a colander, cool and stuff.
Eggplants can also be blanched whole. To do this, they are dipped in boiling water for five minutes, and then placed under oppression. After all moisture comes out of them, proceed to further preparation.
But no matter how cleaned the eggplant, you need to remember that not everyone can use them.
Eggplant due to the large amount of fiber is contraindicated in people with gastric ulcer, gastritis. Also, this vegetable crop can cause allergies in people prone to this disease.
The recipe is GREAT! Eggplant, Like Meat in SIMPLE WAY in 15 minutes!
Worth paying attention to! Nutritionists say that eggplant peel is healthy, has nutrients. Also, it promotes a better metabolism and it has few calories.
Vegetables are often peeled before cooking. In the case of eggplant, peeling helps remove bitterness. If it is necessary that the vegetables after cooking preserve their shape, then peeling them is not necessary. It will protect the fruits from deformation.
How to fry eggplants in a pan / from the chef / Ilya Lazerson / Celibacy dinner
If they are soft and have a wrinkled skin - it means that they contain a lot of solanine. It is better not to get such eggplants. Large fruits, too, is not recommended to pick up, as this is a sign that they have oversaturated. Such vegetables will also be bitter.
Do I need to clean?
The front layer of eggplant has quite useful fibers. They help the digestive system work properly.
The recipe is GREAT! Eggplant, Like Meat in SIMPLE WAY in 15 minutes!
Worth paying attention to! Nutritionists say that eggplant peel is healthy, has nutrients. Also, it promotes a better metabolism and it has few calories.
Vegetables are often peeled before cooking. In the case of eggplant, peeling helps remove bitterness. If it is necessary that the vegetables after cooking preserve their shape, then peeling them is not necessary. It will protect the fruits from deformation.
How to fry eggplants in a pan / from the chef / Ilya Lazerson / Celibacy dinner
So that after frying or the rest of the heat treatment, the eggplant pieces remain intact, the peel is not removed. It is necessary to pick up young fruits, cut them into pieces, and cook. If the vegetables are overripe, they should be immersed in a salt solution for 15 minutes.
The peel of these vegetables to taste quite tart and spicy. High-class chefs recommend peeling vegetables or leaving for 30 minutes, sprinkled with salt. If you cut a vegetable, and you see that the seeds are dark, they need to be cut, while capturing a little pulp.
If you personally grew these eggplants, and are sure that the substances that are harmful were not used, then the eggplants can not be cleaned. Those vegetables that you purchased in the store must be cleaned. After all, when growing, most likely, pesticides were used.
How to clean?
Vegetables should be washed under water right before being peeled. After all, on the surface there is a huge number of microbes, which then fall into the dish. When cleaning eggplant, you must follow these rules.
- First of all, it is necessary to cut off the base with a sharp knife.
- Then, placing the eggplant on a cutting board, and holding it firmly, carefully peel the peel with a peeler or knife.
- Peel the vegetable until the peel is completely removed.
When operating a peeler, care must be taken. Otherwise, you can get hurt. The fruit is tilted away from itself, and peeled from top to bottom. Then eggplant can be used during the preparation of completely different dishes.
Incomplete cleaning
Eggplant can not be completely peeled. Sometimes cooks use a strip cleaning method. Thanks to this method, you can remove bitterness and preserve the shape of the fruit during cooking. Any dish will look beautiful and original.
First of all, you need to wash the vegetable perfectly, then cut off the base. Further, the eggplant is not completely peeled, but in small strips of approximately 3 cm wide. Equal bands should come out. After such cleaning, the fruits are cut as necessary.
Cleaning after cooking
Eggplant can be a great individual dish or an element of some other. So that there is no bitterness, they should learn to choose and cook correctly. If the fruits are young, they can not be peeled. For overripe, this procedure is mandatory.
How to choose eggplant
In order not to spoil the taste of the prepared dish, a suitable vegetable is chosen in advance. Before cooking, determine what heat treatment the fruits will undergo:
If you need a peeled vegetable for cooking, only young fruits are selected. They do not contain solanine, which at high concentrations is poison, and do not bitter after cooking. Eggplant can not be eaten raw: it is harmful to health.
When choosing a fruit, they pay attention to the structure of the upper shell, the softness of the vegetable and the color. For eating, it is better to use eggplant:
- with a strong structure
- with firm and smooth skin
- without spots
- dark purple hue
- without defects.
Soft and shriveled fruits indicate a large amount of solanine, so you should not choose them. Large ones do not use either: this is a sign of overripeness, which gives a bitter aftertaste. Adult specimens have a hard peel and hard seeds, which spoils the dishes.
Do I need to clean the eggplant
In the upper layer of vegetable culture are dietary fiber, which is necessary for the human body to work properly. Nutritionists say that the peel:
- useful
- nutritious
- low calorie
- improves metabolism.
Peeling eggplant peel is a pre-cook process. It helps rid food of its bitter taste. If the final preparation requires preserving the shape of the vegetable, there is no need to clean the culture: the peel protects it from deformation.
Processing vegetables depends on the method of preparation
To get whole pieces after heat treatment, peeling eggplant is not worth it. When choosing a young crop, it is cut into pieces or slices and fried. Overripe instance for 15 minutes. dipped in saline.
Vegetables are peeled, given the choice of dish. If you plan to stew or cook caviar, eggplant is processed and eliminated from the top layer. Clean small pieces that will be used to make stew or fried in breading.
The top layer of the fruit has a tart spicy flavor, so well-known chefs recommend brushing the eggplant or sprinkle it with salt and leave for 30 minutes. If dark seeds were found when cutting, they should be cut with a small amount of pulp.
If the eggplant was grown on its own, without the use of harmful substances, cleaning is not necessary. It is better to clean store eggplants from the peel, because it may contain nitrates and pesticides.
Eggplant Cleaning Rules
Before cleaning, the vegetables are washed under running water.
On the top layer there are microbes that during cooking fall into the dish. To cleanse the skin of the fetus, follow several rules:
- With a knife, cut off the base of the stem. Use only a sharp, well-ground tool, so as not to damage the shape of the vegetable in advance.
- The vegetable is firmly held in the hand, placing it in a container or on a board. Carefully remove the top layer with strips using a knife or peeler.
- Peel the fruit until it is completely rid of the top layer.
During cleaning, do not direct the peeler to yourself so as not to get hurt. Vegetables are deflected away from themselves. It is cleaned at an angle, from top to bottom. Such cleaning of the fruit allows its use in the preparation of salads, stews, for canning, stewing or frying.
Why peel eggplant
Ripe fruits must be peeled in order to reduce the bitterness present in them and neutralize the effect of solanine. This substance is considered quite dangerous, which is why the "little blue" is not recommended to be used raw. 
When cooked, it is manifested by the unpleasant bitterness of overripe fruits. In addition to peeling, removing seeds will help get rid of it and soaking chopped vegetables in salt water.
How to determine the presence of solanine?
Before cooking, you should determine the presence of solanine in the fruits, since it depends on whether the future dish will be bitter. To do this is quite simple, you just cut a small part of the vegetable and leave it for 10-15 minutes at room temperature. A slice of eggplant with a high concentration of solanine will quickly darken in air, and a young specimen can only turn slightly yellow.
How to clean eggplants so that they do not bite
Old and overripe vegetables must be peeled. Moreover, in their rough peel almost no useful elements remained. The cleaning method depends on which dishes you plan to cook.
To begin with, the fruit should be thoroughly washed, cut off the tail with the sepals and the opposite tip. Then, with a sharp knife or a peeler, the skin is cut along the fetus and all its defects are removed.
Also, the vegetable is perfectly peeled if you first blanch it for about 5 minutes in boiling water, and then briefly immerse it in cold water. 
Many use this method for winter harvesting of fruits, storing them frozen. One of the most beloved in many ways is to clean the baked eggplant. Depending on the ripeness, the fruits are baked in a hot oven for 20 to 40 minutes. Then they are placed in a closed container until completely cooled. After that, their skin is easily separated, and the vegetables themselves acquire a pleasant taste, aroma and are especially suitable for making caviar.
When is it not necessary to peel an eggplant?
Vegetables contain many valuable vitamins and minerals, many of which are found in the peel of the fruit. In addition, there is fiber, which has a beneficial effect on the digestive tract. Therefore, if young specimens are used, then they can be eaten with a skin that is still quite soft and not bitter. This will maximize the benefits of vegetables.
Also, vegetables are not peeled before baking in the oven or on the grill and cooking, where they are stuffed with any filling. In this case, the peel allows the fruit to retain its shape and attractive appearance.
So, now you know how to clean eggplants and whether it is possible to use them with a peel. Think, experiment, use old and proven recipes and enjoy this wonderful vegetable with pleasure.
