Bitter eggplant? Blame NICOTINE

want to know the secret to bitter free eggplant it's not salting and draining because most of the bitterness isn't concentrated in the flesh it's in the skin and seeds and no amount of salting is going to get it out of there ready for what that bitterness is it's nicotine yup the same nicotine that's found in cigarettes eggplant is in the nightshade family just like tobacco and also tomatoes potatoes and peppers all of these contain nicotine though the concentration is more than 100 000 times higher in tobacco than the rest of those vegetables now if you want to eat 20 whole eggplants in one sitting then you'll get the buzz of one cigarette but you'll probably feel the effects of all that fiber first the nicotine is there by the way as a plant defense it's a neurotoxin against insects in fact nicotine has been used as an insecticide at least as far back as the 1600s the english used tobacco juice to kill children's head lice and nicotine is not just a nightshade thing other plants like celery and cauliflower contain it too but again in tiny tiny doses so what is the secret to keeping eggplant bitter free if it's locked up in the seeds grow your own you typically have only one choice at the supermarket a thick skinned variety that bruises less easily when transported and it comes with plenty of seeds but in the garden you can choose varieties that have fewer seeds like this beautiful heirloom from iraq called aswad a little tricky for english speakers but it means black and arabic despite its size it has surprisingly few seeds and a nice creamy flesh aswad was first introduced to the us by baker creek heirloom seeds they're our sponsor for this episode and also for a whole season of gardening videos i'll put a link below to an entire playlist so you can check out all the episodes [Music] eggplant of course is a hugely important ingredient across the middle east and a variety like this is really well suited to hot climates i'm in zone seven through june and july it looked like i was losing the battle to flea beetles but then the plants just muscled through and started producing really well in the second half of august and still now in september i'm also growing antigua eggplant an italian heirloom the name is actually spanish for ancient and i wonder if this eggplant has any connection with the spanish rule of southern italy that lasted for five centuries until 1816. these grow long and thin but stay dainty in size they also have a creamy flesh and if you don't let them stay on the plant too long they won't develop too many seeds or that spongy middle that so many grocery store varieties do knowing the right size your eggplant should be when mature or the days from planting to maturity can help you know when to pick your eggplant if you leave them on the plant too long they start to over mature and develop more seeds and bitterness is important to so many world cuisines from nigeria to china italy to iran it's the one vegetable that i never get bored of cooking they come in so many beautiful colors and shapes too including a small round white one that looks very much like a hen's egg and that's likely where the american english name came from

Channel: TRUE FOOD TV

Views: 31,744

Keywords: eggplant, aubergine, aswad, antigua, heirloom eggplant, organic gardening, baker creek seeds, nicotine in eggplant, how to get bitterness out of eggplant, salt and drain, food education, food science, food history, nicole jolly, home gardening

Id: KMdE3ZZsJCU

Length: 4min 0sec (240 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 08 2020