Eggplant (Solanum melongena L)

Eggplant is a wonderful option for vegans and vegetarians, extremely nutritious and highly versatile in the kitchen.

Eggplant was originally named because its previous, but now rarer, colour was white and, of course, the fruit is almost egg-shaped. It is a vegetable that has spawned much consternation and many theories.

In much of Europe, the eggplant is called an “aubergine”, but it has had a more colourful name in the past. A few centuries ago, northern European people believed it could produce insanity, which led to it also being called the “Mad Apple”. Long before the Europeans came across it though, eggplant was being grown in India and China. It was introduced to Africa around 1500 years ago and then to Italy in the 14th century CE. It subsequently spread throughout Europe and the Middle East and, centuries later, was brought to the West by European explorers.