When you have found an eggplant that is ready to pick, first grasp it carefully with one hand, and raise it up a bit to get a better look. Remember, the eggplant should be a little bigger than your hand (or around that size), and have a nice shine to it. This is a ‘Black Beauty’ variety eggplant.
How do you tell when an eggplant is ready to pick?
Harvesting eggplants should occur when the inner flesh is cream colored, fruits are firm and before seeds are visible. Learning when to harvest eggplants may require cutting into the fruit to check the color of the flesh and the size of the seeds.
How big is too big for an eggplant?
Most eggplant plants will reach a height of 2 to 3 feet tall. However, some compact varieties may only reach 16 inches tall, while some taller varieties can reach heights of 4 feet. The fruit of eggplants can be as small as 2 or 3 inches long, or as big as 10 inches long.
Are bigger eggplants better?
Italian eggplant are more delicate and sweeter than their larger cousins, and their smaller size makes them a good choice for stuffing, roasting, and broiling.
Are small eggplants better?
The smaller version of the larger purple skinned eggplant is often called Italian or baby eggplant. These have a somewhat more intense flavor and the flesh is much more tender. The straight thin eggplants known as Japanese or Asian eggplant have thin delicate skins like Italian eggplant but the flesh is sweeter.
How many eggplants do you get per plant?
The standard eggplant produces egg-shaped, glossy, purple-black fruit. ‘Black Beauty’ is the traditional eggplant size. One plant produces 4 to 6 large rounded fruit.
Do eggplants ripen off the vine?
Eggplant is a warm-season vegetable plant that produces an oblong-shaped fruit. While it is not easy to ripen the eggplant fruit off the vine, the best-tasting ones are those picked at an immature size. The only time you want to allow the fruit to ripen on the vine is for seed production for future planting.
Why are my eggplants so small?
Why are my plants so small and growing slowly? Eggplants are sensitive to the cold. Either a transplant has been planted into cold soil, or a young plant has experienced cold weather, or a transplant that became root bound before being planted may be stunted for a short while or for the full growing season.
Do eggplants grow back every year?
Eggplant plants can come back every year but they usually won’t. Eggplants rarely survive long past the harvest months. A perennial plant eggplant is a rarity outside of tropical climates. Eggplants can come back every year in ideal, tropical conditions.
Do eggplants need to be pruned?
ANSWER: Eggplants, like fellow nightshade family member tomatoes benefit from staking and pruning. In fact, eggplant actually produces more fruit when pruned. Pruning eggplant can also improve the fruit quality of the plant, and decrease the plant’s susceptibility to disease.
What is considered a small eggplant?
Baby eggplants are petite with varying shapes from short and stout to slightly elongated and narrow, averaging only 5-7 centimeters in length.
How can you tell if an eggplant is good?
“Eggplant should be slightly firm but not hard,” says Leone. In other words, if you push on it with your finger and the veggie feels very soft, or you’re able to puncture the skin, it’s too far gone. A perfectly ripe eggplant will not have as much give when touched as a ripe tomato or peach.
Should eggplant be firm or soft?
slightly firm
It feels slightly firm.
If you press your finger against the eggplant, it should have a little give to it and bounce back, but not be as soft as, say, pressing your finger against a ripe piece of fruit. If it feels very soft, that means that the eggplant is old and overripe.
Are male or female eggplants better?
Source: The Cook’s Thesaurus, by Lori Alden. Despite the ages old, old-wives tale that there are male and female eggplants and the male of the species is better eating – detected because it has an “outie” blossom end as opposed to the female “innie” blossom end – there is no such thing.
Do you need 2 eggplants to produce fruit?
The answer is that the eggplant is self-pollinating due to its “perfect” or “complete” flowers. Perfect flowers contain both anthers (which produce pollen) and pistils (which receive the pollen).
How often should eggplant be watered?
Eggplant also needs consistent water, at least 1 inch per week. It is better to give one thorough soaking than several frequent, short waterings, because frequent watering promotes shallow roots. Weather and soil type, of course, will affect water demand.
What month to plant eggplant?
Eggplants can only grow in warm soil—50 degrees Fahrenheit or above. The best time to plant eggplant is in late spring after the last threat of frost. Eggplants have a long growing season, so you’ll need to start them indoors around eight weeks before your region’s last frost date.
Can I eat immature eggplant?
ANSWER: We harvest eggplants in the unripe immature stage, like we do bell peppers, cucumbers, squash, okra and snap beans. As such, you cannot harvest them too early. Baby eggplants are a delight to eat.
How do you know if an eggplant is bad?
When buying an eggplant, the flesh should be firm but give slightly when pressed, then bounce back. If your eggplant is soft to the touch, that’s an indication that it’s beginning to spoil. In addition, if the flesh of the eggplant is slimy, you’ll want to throw it away.
Can you eat overripe eggplant?
You got five days at most before it turns into a mushy mess, all brown inside, slightly slimy and soft. As soon as you slice it, it starts oxidizing and turning brown, sort of like avocado or potatoes, but it does not make it bad for eating.
How do you grow large eggplants?
Eggplants grow into tall, angular plants, so they should be spaced 24 to 36 inches apart. Improve planting holes by mixing in 2 inches of compost to help hold moisture and fertilizer in the soil. Set plants at the same depth at which they are growing in their containers, and water well before spreading mulch.
Marilyn Medina is a food expert with over 15 years of experience in the culinary industry. She has worked in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world, including The Ritz-Carlton and The French Laundry.
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