Eggplant is the glossy purple fruit of a nightshade grown across India, China and the Mediterranean. This page is for anyone who buys it, grows it or wants to use it beyond the frying pan: which part is eaten, which forms folk practice made of it, how to prepare each one, and the one rule that really matters — never raw.
Eggplant at a glance
Item
Detail
Botanical name
Solanum melongena
Family
Solanaceae (nightshades)
Part used
The ripe fruit, skin included. Leaves are never used.
Forms of use
Cooked in dishes, boiled slices and their water, dried and powdered, blended pulp for the skin
Harvest season
Late summer to early autumn, from plants sown in late winter under cover
Taste
Bland and faintly bitter raw; creamy, smoky and mellow once cooked
Plant size
40 to 60 in (100 to 150 cm) tall
What it is credited with
A diuretic reputation in Mediterranean folk practice, tied to its very high water content and its low sodium, high potassium profile.
Naturopathy points to its fibre and counts it among the foods it recommends for sluggish digestion and a slow transit.
A long-standing astringent reputation, which is why dried and powdered eggplant appears in old recipes rather than fresh pulp.
Traditional European herbalism used eggplant poultices on piles — for centuries this was almost the only reason it was grown here.
Herbalists have long described it as a food that supports the liver and gall bladder, and it is a classic of light, low-fat eating for its satiating bulk.
Folk practice applies dried eggplant powder to insect bites for its soothing, drawing reputation.
Household cosmetic tradition credits the fresh pulp with calming sun-reddened skin and with nourishing dry skin.
In parts of the East, salted eggplant powder has a reputation as a tooth-whitening paste.
Small, firm, unpeeled fruit: the form traditional use favours
How to use it
Cooked, as a vegetable — the everyday form
Rinse, do not peel. Slice or halve, and cook it through: baked, grilled, steamed, stuffed, in ratatouille or moussaka.
Never eat it raw. Cooking is not a matter of taste here, it is the rule.
Use as little oil as you can get away with — the flesh drinks fat like a sponge. Dry-fry in a hot pan until the slices have released their water, then add a trickle of olive oil at the end.
Salting sliced eggplant for a quarter of an hour and blotting it dry cuts the bitterness and the amount of oil it takes up.
Boiled slices and their water
Cut a fruit into thin slices and simmer them in water until soft.
Drink the strained liquid warm, plain or with the juice of a lemon, spread over the day rather than in one go.
Blending the cooked slices back into the liquid gives a thicker, more filling drink. Taste is earthy and mild; lemon makes it drinkable.
Dried and powdered
Slice thinly, dry the slices in a low oven until they snap, then crush them with an equal weight of salt.
Store the powder in a sealed jar, dry and dark.
Traditional uses: dusted on mosquito bites, or used sparingly on a damp toothbrush as an old whitening paste — occasionally, not daily, since salt is abrasive.
On the skin
After the sun: blend a raw eggplant to a pulp and lay it on reddened skin, then rinse with cool water.
Nourishing mask: blend the pulp with a tablespoon of argan oil, leave on the face for a quarter of an hour, rinse under running water.
Patch-test on the forearm first: this is a nightshade, and some skins react to it.
Two ways to eat it tonight
Eggplant toast: dry-fry thin slices in a little olive oil until the water has gone. Pile them on wholegrain bread with a slice of tomato and mozzarella, scatter Provence herbs, bake until the cheese melts, eat warm with a green salad.
Eggplant lasagne: replace some of the pasta sheets with thick slices of eggplant, grilled first so they do not water down the sauce.
Forms of eggplant and what each is for
Form
Preparation
What tradition uses it for
Cooked fruit
Baked, grilled, steamed or stewed, skin left on, minimal oil
Everyday eating; the filling, high-fibre form naturopathy favours
Boiled slices and water
Thin slices simmered in water, lemon juice added, drunk through the day
The old diuretic, light-eating preparation
Dried powder with salt
Slices oven-dried, crushed with an equal weight of salt
Dusted on insect bites; folk tooth-whitening paste
Fresh blended pulp
Raw fruit blended, alone or with a little argan oil
Soothing after sun, nourishing face mask
Frequently Asked Questions
The one thing to remember: eat the fruit cooked, keep the skin on, leave the leaves alone.
Can I eat eggplant raw in a salad?
No. Raw eggplant contains solanine, which is toxic and can cause digestive and nervous upsets. It needs to be cooked through — baked, grilled, steamed or stewed. The only raw use in traditional practice is external, as a blended pulp on the skin.
Should I peel it?
No, just rinse it. The skin is the most pigment-rich part of the fruit and holds its antioxidant compounds. Leaving it on also helps thick slices hold their shape when grilled or baked.
Why does my eggplant soak up so much oil?
The flesh is spongy and drinks fat readily. Salt the slices for a quarter of an hour, blot them dry, then dry-fry them in a hot pan until the water has gone and add a trickle of olive oil only at the end.
Can the leaves be used for an infusion?
Never. Eggplant leaves are toxic and are not edible in any form. Only the ripe fruit is used, whether cooked, boiled and strained, or dried into powder.
When is eggplant harvested?
Late summer to early autumn, from plants started under cover in late winter. Pick the fruit while it is still firm and glossy with a green calyx — smaller fruit tastes finer than a big, seedy one.
This information is provided for general interest and reflects the traditional use of plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant, or in any doubt, ask a healthcare professional.
Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.
