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{{Short description|Plant species}}
{{Redirect|Aubergine||Eggplant (disambiguation)|and|Aubergine (disambiguation)}}
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{{Speciesbox
| name = Eggplant
| image = Solanum melongena 24 08 2012 (1).JPG
| image_caption = Fruits growing on the plant
| genus = Solanum
| species = melongena
| parent = Solanum sect. Melongena
| display_parents = 3
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]
| synonyms = ''Solanum ovigerum'' {{small|Dunal}}<br />
''Solanum trongum'' {{small|Poir.}}<br />
and see [[#Varieties|text]]
}}

'''Eggplant''' (in [[North American English|North American]], [[Australian English|Australian]], and [[Philippine English]]), '''aubergine''' (in [[British English|British]],<ref>[http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/aubergine "Aubergine", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', undated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810232556/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/aubergine |date=2015-08-10 }}. Retrieved: 7 August 2015.</ref> [[Hiberno English|Irish]], and [[New Zealand English]]), '''brinjal''' (in [[Bangladeshi English|Bangladeshi]], [[Indian English|Indian]], [[Singapore English|Singapore]], [[Malaysian English|Malaysian]], [[South African English|South African]], and [[Sri Lankan English]]), or '''baigan''' (in [[Caribbean English]])<ref name="Oxford_Dic">{{cite web|title=Oxford Dictionary, s.v. brinjal|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/brinjal|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401110729/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/brinjal|archive-date=1 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tompepinsky.com/2005/06/20/etymology-of-the-eggplant/#:~:text=In%20Malaysia%2C%20lots%20of%20the,but%20in%20Malaysian%20it's%20brinjal.|title = Etymology of the Eggplant|date = 21 June 2005}}</ref> is a plant [[species]] in the [[Solanaceae|nightshade family]] Solanaceae. '''''Solanum melongena''''' is grown worldwide for its edible [[fruit]], typically used as a [[vegetable]] in cooking.

Most commonly purple, the spongy, absorbent fruit is used in [[List of cuisines|several cuisines]]. It is a [[berry (botany)|berry]] by [[botany|botanical]] definition. As a member of the genus ''[[Solanum]]'', it is related to the [[tomato]], [[chili pepper]], and [[potato]], although those are of the [[Americas]] region while the eggplant is of the [[Eurasia]] region. Like the tomato, its skin and seeds can be eaten, but it is usually eaten cooked. Eggplant is nutritionally low in [[macronutrient]] and [[micronutrient]] content, but the capability of the fruit to absorb oils and flavors into its flesh through cooking expands its use in the [[culinary arts]].

It was originally [[Domestication|domesticated]] from the wild nightshade species ''thorn'' or ''bitter apple'', ''[[Solanum incanum|S. incanum]]'',<ref name="Tsaoand">Tsao and Lo in "Vegetables: Types and Biology". ''Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering'' by Yiu H. Hui (2006). CRC Press. {{ISBN|1-57444-551-0}}.</ref><ref name="Doijode">Doijode, S. D. (2001). ''Seed storage of horticultural crops'' (pp 157). Haworth Press: {{ISBN|1-56022-901-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.genetics.org/content/161/4/1697|title=A Comparative Genetic Linkage Map of Eggplant (Solanum melongena) and Its Implications for Genome Evolution in the Solanaceae|journal=Genetics|first1=Sami|last1=Doganlar|first2=Anne|last2=Frary|first3=Marie-Christine|last3=Daunay|first4=Richard N.|last4=Lester|first5=Steven D.|last5=Tanksley|date=1 August 2002|volume=161|issue=4|pages=1697–1711|doi=10.1093/genetics/161.4.1697|via=genetics.org|pmid=12196412|pmc=1462225|access-date=3 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311005638/http://www.genetics.org/content/161/4/1697|archive-date=11 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> probably with two independent domestications: one in [[South Asia]], and one in [[East Asia]].<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | access-date=20 November 2014}}</ref> In 2023, world production of eggplants was 61 million tonnes, with China and India combining for 85% of the total.

==Description==
The eggplant is a delicate, tropical [[perennial plant|perennial]] plant often cultivated as a [[Hardiness (plants)|tender or half-hardy]] [[annual plant|annual]] in [[temperate climate]]s. The stem is often [[spine (botany)|spiny]]. It grows {{convert|40|to|150|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} tall,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How To Grow And Care For Eggplant |url=https://www.southernliving.com/garden/growing-eggplant |website=Southern Living |access-date=20 June 2024 }}</ref> with large, coarsely [[lobed]] [[leaf|leaves]] that are {{convert|10|to|20|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|5|to|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} broad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solanum melongena (Aubergine, Brinjal, Eggplant, Mad Apple, Raging Apple)|url=https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/solanum-melongena/ |website=North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox |publisher=North Carolina State University |access-date=20 June 2024 }}</ref> Semiwild types can grow much larger, to {{convert|225|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}, with large leaves over {{convert|30|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|15|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} broad.<ref name="SP"/> 

The [[flower]]s are white to purple in color, with a five-lobed [[Corolla (flower)|corolla]] and yellow [[stamen]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solanum melongena (eggplant): Go Botany |url=https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/solanum/melongena/|website=Go Botany |publisher=Native Plant Trust  |access-date=20 June 2024 }}</ref>

Botanically classified as a [[berry (botany)|berry]], the fruit contains numerous small, soft, edible [[seed]]s that taste bitter because they contain or are covered in [[nicotine|nicotinoid]] [[alkaloid]]s, like the related [[tobacco]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eggplant |url=https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/eggplant.html |website=Gardening Solutions |publisher=University of Florida |access-date=20 October 2023 }}</ref> Some common cultivars have fruit that is egg-shaped, glossy, and purple with white flesh and a spongy, "meaty" texture. Some other cultivars are white and longer in shape. Wild eggplants fruits measure less than {{convert|3|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} in diameter.<ref name="SP">{{Cite web |title=Foraged Eggplant |url=https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Foraged_Eggplant_9786.php |website=Specialty Produce |access-date=20 June 2024}}</ref> The fruit flesh rapidly turns brown when [[oxidation|in contact with the oxygen in the air]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Xiaohui |last2=Zhang |first2=Aidong |last3=Shang |first3=Jing |last4=Zhu |first4=Zongwen |last5=Li |first5=Ye |last6=Wu |first6=Xuexia |last7=Zha |first7=Dingshi |date=March 2021|title=Study on browning mechanism of fresh-cut eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) based on metabolomics, enzymatic assays and gene expression |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=6937 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-86311-1 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=7994816 |pmid=33767263|bibcode=2021NatSR..11.6937L }}</ref>

=== Genetics ===
The eggplant genome has 12 chromosomes.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=A high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly reveals genetics for important traits in eggplant |journal=Horticulture Research |last1=Wei |first1=Q |issue=153 |volume=7 |pages=1–15 |last2=Wang |first2=J |doi=10.1038/s41438-020-00391-0 |year=2020 |orig-date= |language=english |pmc= 7506008|pmid=33024567 |last3=Wang |first3=W |last4=Hu |first4=T |last5=Bao |first5=C |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020HorR....7..153W }}[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41438-020-00391-0.pdf?pdf=button%20sticky PDF]</ref>

{{Multiple image
| total_width = 600
| align = center
| direction = horizontal

|footer = Left to right: a) Closeup of eggplant flower; b) Thorns and leaves of the plant; c) A developing fruit; d) Transversal section of the fruit showcasing the arrangement of seeds; e) Longitudinal section of eggplant. There are almost no seeds at the top but they become plentiful at the bottom. Although the photograph was taken just a few moments after slicing, the flesh of the eggplant has already begun to oxidize.
|image1 = Eggplant Flower in Hong Kong.JPG 
|image2 = Épines sous branches de plante à œufs.jpg
|image3 = An eggplant fruit developing on the plant in Howrah district of West Bengal, India.jpg 
| image4 = Aubergine coupe.jpg 
| image5 = Eggplant-sliced.jpg
}}

==Etymology and regional names==
[[File:Eggplant with chicken eggs.jpg|right|thumb|200px|White eggplant compared to two chicken eggs]]

The plant and fruit have a profusion of English names.

===''Eggplant''-type names===
The name ''eggplant'' is usual in [[North American English]] and [[Australian English]]. First recorded in 1763, the word "eggplant" was originally applied to white cultivars, which look very much like hen's eggs (see image).<ref name="oed">{{cite web|title=Eggplant|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=eggplant|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper|access-date=8 December 2017|date=2017}}</ref><ref name="www">{{cite web|title=Eggplant|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-egg1.htm|publisher=World Wide Worlds|access-date=8 December 2017|date=20 October 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209203908/http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-egg1.htm|archive-date=9 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"'[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/59900 egg-plant], n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, July 2018. Accessed 23 September 2018.</ref> Similar names are widespread in other languages, such as the [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] term ''eggaldin'' or the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''planhigyn ŵy''.

The white, egg-shaped varieties of the eggplant's fruits are also known as ''garden eggs'',<ref>'[https://www.nap.edu/read/11763/chapter/9 Eggplant (Garden Egg)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923200826/https://www.nap.edu/read/11763/chapter/9 |date=2018-09-23 }}', in National Research Council of the National Academies, ''[https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11763/lost-crops-of-africa-volume-ii-vegetables Lost Crops of Africa, Volume II: Vegetables] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923200828/https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11763/lost-crops-of-africa-volume-ii-vegetables |date=2018-09-23 }}'' (Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2006), pp. 136–53. {{ISBN|978-0-309-66582-7}}, {{doi|10.17226/11763}}.</ref> a term first attested in 1811.<ref>'Garden egg', in "[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/76724 garden, n.]" ''OED'', 3rd edn (2017).</ref> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' records that between 1797 and 1888, the name ''vegetable egg'' was also used.<ref>'[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/299990 Vegetable egg, n.', ''OED'', 3rd edn (2012).]</ref>

===''Aubergine''-type names===
Whereas ''eggplant'' was coined in some variations English, any other European names for the plant derive from the {{langx|ar|باذنجان}} ''bāḏinjān'' {{IPA|ar|bæːðɪnˈd͡ʒæːn|}} {{pronunciation|Q7540-ar.ogg|listen|help=no}}.<ref name="oed-brinjal">''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 3rd edition, 2001, ''s.v.'' '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/116252 melongena, n.]'; 2000, ''s.v.'' '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/116253 melongene, n.]"; and 2000, ''s.v.'' '[http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/112011 mad-apple, n.]'. These partly supersede the etymology in ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 1st edition, 1888, ''s.v.'' '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/23394 brinjal]'. This in turn supersedes the 1885 OED etymology ''s.v.'' '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/12985 aubergine]'.</ref> ''Bāḏinjān'' is itself a loan-word in Arabic, whose earliest traceable origins lie in the [[Dravidian languages]]. The ''[[Hobson-Jobson]]'' dictionary comments that "probably there is no word of the kind which has undergone such extraordinary variety of modifications, whilst retaining the same meaning, as this".<ref name="hj">Henry Yule, A.C. Burnell, ''Hobson-Jobson: The Anglo-Indian Dictionary'', 1886, reprint {{ISBN|185326363X}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rcjmiBm8hHQC&pg=PA115 p. 115], ''s.v.'' 'brinjaul'</ref>

In English usage, modern names deriving from Arabic ''bāḏinjān'' include:

* ''Aubergine'', usual in [[British English]] and [[Hiberno-English|Irish English]] (as well as [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]]).
* ''Brinjal'' or ''brinjaul'', usual in [[South Asia]] and [[South African English]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/brinjal|title=Brinjal|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184735/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/brinjal|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Solanum melongena'', the [[Linnaean name]].

====From Dravidian to Arabic====
[[File:Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-'i Nathani - An Eggplant, a Plant Called Parsiyavushan, and Dungwort - Walters W659225B - Full Page.jpg|thumb|Illustration of an eggplant (upper picture) in a 1717 manuscript of a work by the thirteenth-century Persian [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]].]]

All the ''aubergine''-type names have the same origin, in the Dravidian languages. Modern descendants of this [[Proto-Dravidian language|ancient Dravidian]] word include [[Malayalam]] ''vaṟutina'' and [[Tamil language|Tamil]] ''vaṟutuṇai''.<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

The Dravidian word was borrowed into the [[Indo-Aryan languages]], giving ancient forms such as [[Sanskrit]] and [[Pali]] ''vātiṅ-gaṇa'' (alongside Sanskrit ''vātigama'') and [[Prakrit]] ''vāiṃaṇa''. According to the entry ''brinjal'' in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the Sanskrit word ''vātin-gāna'' denoted 'the class (that removes) the wind-disorder (windy humour)': that is, ''vātin-gāna'' came to be the name for eggplants because they were thought to cure [[flatulence]]. The modern [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] words descending directly from the Sanskrit name are ''baingan'' and ''began''.<ref name=":0">''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 1st edition, 1888, ''s.v.'' '[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/23394 brinjal]'.</ref>

The Indic word ''vātiṅ-gaṇa'' was then borrowed into [[Persian language|Persian]] as ''bādingān''. Persian ''bādingān'' was borrowed in turn into Arabic as ''bāḏinjān'' (or, with the [[definite article]], ''al-bāḏinjān''). From Arabic, the word was borrowed into European languages.<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

====From Arabic into Iberia and beyond====
In [[al-Andalus]], the Arabic word ''(al-)bāḏinjān'' was borrowed into the [[Romance languages]] in forms beginning with ''b''- or, with the definite article included, ''alb''-:<ref name="oed-brinjal" />
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{lang|pt|bringella}}, {{lang|pt|bringiela}}, {{lang|pt|beringela}}.<ref name=":0" />
* [[Spanish language|Spanish]] {{lang|es|berenjena}}, {{lang|es|alberenjena}}.

The Spanish word {{lang|es|alberenjena}} was then borrowed into French, giving {{lang|fr|aubergine}} (along with French dialectal forms like {{lang|fr|albergine}}, {{lang|fr|albergaine}}, {{lang|fr|albergame}}, and {{lang|fr|belingèle}}). The French name was then borrowed into British English, appearing there first in the late eighteenth century.<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

Through the [[colonialism|colonial expansion]] of Portugal, the Portuguese form {{lang|pt|bringella}} was borrowed into a variety of other languages:<ref name="oed-brinjal" />
* Indian, Malaysian, Singaporean and South African English ''brinjal'', ''brinjaul'' (first attested in the seventeenth century).
* [[West Indian English]] ''brinjalle'' and (through [[folk-etymology]]) ''brown-jolly''.
* French ''bringelle'' in La Réunion.

Thus although Indian English ''brinjal'' ultimately originates in languages of the Indian Subcontinent, it actually came into Indian English via Portuguese.

====From Arabic into Greek and beyond====
[[File:MS 626, folio CLXXV Wellcome L0075018.jpg|thumb|Illustrations of an eggplant from a possibly fifteenth-century French manuscript of a work by [[Matthaeus Platearius]]. The word ''melonge'', below the illustration, has a blue initial ''M''-.]]

The Arabic word ''bāḏinjān'' was borrowed into [[Greek language|Greek]] by the eleventh century CE. The Greek loans took a variety of forms, but crucially they began with ''m-'', partly because Greek lacked the initial ''b-'' sound and partly through [[folk-etymology|folk-etymological]] association with the Greek word ''μέλας'' (''melas''), 'black'. Attested Greek forms include ''ματιζάνιον'' (''matizanion'', eleventh-century), ''μελιντζάνα'' (''melintzana'', fourteenth-century), and ''μελιντζάνιον'' (''melintzanion'', seventeenth-century).<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

From Greek, the word was borrowed into [[Italian language|Italian]] and medieval [[Latin]], and onwards into French. Early forms include:<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

* ''Melanzāna'', recorded in [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] in the twelfth century.
* ''Melongena'', recorded in Latin in the thirteenth century.
* ''Melongiana'', recorded in Veronese in the fourteenth century.
* ''Melanjan'', recorded in [[Old French]].

From these forms came the botanical Latin ''melongēna''. This was used by [[Joseph Pitton de Tournefort|Tournefort]] as a [[genus]] name in 1700, then by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] as a [[species]] name in 1753. It remains in scientific use.<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

These forms also gave rise to the [[Caribbean English]] ''melongene''.<ref name="oed-brinjal" />

The Italian ''melanzana'', through [[folk-etymology]], was adapted to ''mela insana'' ('mad apple'): already by the thirteenth century, this name had given rise to a tradition that eggplants could cause insanity. Translated into English as 'mad-apple',<ref name=":1" /> 'rage-apple', or 'raging apple', this name for eggplants is attested from 1578 and the form 'mad-apple' may still be found in [[Southern American English]].<ref name="guineasquash">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecarolinagoldricefoundation.org/news/2016/6/4/guinea-squash|title=Guinea squash|publisher=Carolina Gold Rice Foundation|date=4 April 2011|access-date=9 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110061559/http://www.thecarolinagoldricefoundation.org/news/2016/6/4/guinea-squash|archive-date=10 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Other English names===
The plant is also known as ''guinea squash'' in [[Southern American English]]. The term ''guinea'' in the name originally denoted the fact that the fruits were associated with West Africa, specifically the region that is now the modern day country [[Guinea]].<ref name="guineasquash"/>

It has been known as 'Jew's apple',<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> apparently in relation to a belief that the fruit was first imported to the [[West Indies]] by Jewish people.<ref name=":2">"brown-jolly", in "[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/23849 brown, adj.]", "[https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/101210 Jews' apple]" in "Jew, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, July 2018. Accessed 23 September 2018.</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Eleven long purple eggplants.jpg|thumb|right|Long purple eggplants]]
[[File:An aubergine-eggplant-brinjal plant with a hanging fruit..jpg|thumb|Purple eggplant, ready for harvesting.]]
[[File:Leiden University Library - Seikei Zusetsu vol. 26, page 027 - 渤海茄, 水茄 - Solanum melongena L. - 茄子 - idem, 1804.jpg|thumb|Varieties of ''Solanum melongena'' from the Japanese [[Seikei Zusetsu]] agricultural encyclopedia]]

There is no consensus about the place of origin of eggplant; the plant species has been described as native to South Asia,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Foundation|first=Encyclopaedia Iranica|title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica|url=https://iranicaonline.org/|access-date=2021-04-22|website=iranicaonline.org|language=en-US|quote=The plant is native to South Asia and was domesticated in India. It was brought to the Iranian lands at a very early but indeterminable date.}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Trujilo |first1=Linda |title=The Elegant Eggplant |journal=Master Gardener Journal |date=25 January 2003 |url=https://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/pubs/0203/eggplant.html |access-date=16 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204150752/http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/pubs/0203/eggplant.html |archive-date=4 December 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> where it continues to grow wild, or Africa.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Matthee|first=Rudolph|title=Oxford Handbook Topics in History |date=2016-02-11|chapter=Patterns of Food Consumption in Early Modern Iran|chapter-url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935369.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935369-e-13|language=en|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935369.013.13|isbn=978-0-19-993536-9|quote=Eggplant, which originated in Africa, first shows up in history in Southeast Asia, and it was possibly brought to Iran in the same period from India via the Turks of Central Asia.}}</ref> It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory. The earliest known mention of the eggplant is in the 59 BCE "Slave's Contract" ({{lang|zh|僮約}}; {{transliteration|cmn|tóng yuē}}) by Chinese poet [[Wang Bao]] ({{lang|zh|王褒}});<ref name = "WB-TY">{{lang|zh|王褒}} (Wang Bao), "Slave's Contract ({{lang|zh|《僮約》}})"; ''[[Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China|Gujin Tushu Jicheng]]'' version, vol. 330, p. [[s:zh:Page:Gujin_Tushu_Jicheng,_Volume_330_(1700-1725).djvu/83|83]]. (二月春分，……別'''茄'''披蔥。)</ref><ref name = "WGK-2008">{{cite journal|author1= Wang, Jin-Xiu|author2= Gao, Tian-Gang|journal=  Annals of Botany|author3= Knapp, Sandra|year= 2008|title= Ancient Chinese literature reveals pathways of eggplant domestication|volume= 102|number= 6|page= 893 of 891–897|doi= 10.1093/aob/mcn179|pmid= 18819950|pmc= 2712397|quote= He [Wang Bao] states: ‘In the second month of the year, the Spring Equinox … separate and transplant seedlings of '''eggplant''' and scallion’.}}</ref> subsequently, the plant was mentioned in other later sources such as ''[[Qimin Yaoshu]]'', an agricultural treatise completed in 544 CE.<ref name = "WGK-2008"/><ref>{{citation |last=Dunlop |first=Fuchsia |title=Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province |publisher=Ebury Press |year=2006 |page=202}}</ref>

Eggplant was introduced to Europe through the [[Iberian Peninsula]], where it became a staple among [[Islam in Spain|Muslim]] and [[Sephardic Jews|Jewish]] communities.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Gitlitz |first1=David M. |title=A Drizzle of Honey: the lives and recipes of Spain's secret Jews |last2=Davidson |first2=Linda Kay |date=1999 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-19860-2 |edition= |location=New York |pages=xiv}}</ref> The presence of numerous [[Arabic]] and North African names for the vegetable, coupled with the absence of ancient Greek and Roman names, suggests that it was cultivated in the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean area]] by [[Arabs]] during the [[early Middle Ages]], arriving in Spain in the 8th century.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=Ghillean |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=Mark |last1=Sanderson |first1=Helen |last2=Renfrew |first2=Jane M. |date=2005 |title=The Cultural History of Plants |publisher=Routledge |page=118 |isbn=0415927463}}</ref> A book on agriculture by [[Ibn Al-Awwam]] in 12th-century [[Al-Andalus|Muslim Spain]] described how to grow aubergines.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PuEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA236 ''The Book of Agriculture'' by Ibn Al-Awwam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003085721/https://books.google.com/books?id=PuEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA236|date=2015-10-03}}, translated from Arabic to French by J.-J. Clément-Mullet, year 1866, volume 2 page 236.</ref> Records exist from later medieval Catalan and Spanish,<ref>The first record of Catalan ''albergínia'' = "aubergine" is in 1328 according to the Catalan dictionary [http://www.diccionari.cat/lexicx.jsp?GECART=0005230 Diccionari.cat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110024923/http://www.diccionari.cat/lexicx.jsp?GECART=0005230|date=2013-11-10}}. An earlier record in Catalan is known, from the 13th century, according to the French [http://cnrtl.fr/definition/aubergine ''Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514101046/http://cnrtl.fr/definition/aubergine|date=2013-05-14}}. A number of old variant spellings for the aubergine word in Romance dialects in Iberia indicate the word was borrowed from Arabic; [https://books.google.com/books?id=N_hAzIqriakC ''Dictionary of Arabic and Allied Loanwords: Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Galician and Kindred Dialects''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003084352/https://books.google.com/books?id=N_hAzIqriakC|date=2015-10-03}}, by Federico Corriente, year 2008 page 60.</ref> as well as from 14th-century Italy.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mane |first=Perrine |year=2008 |title=Les fruits et les légumes dans les livres de cuisine à la fin du Moyen Âge |trans-title=Fruits and vegetables in late medieval cookbooks |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/keryl_1275-6229_2008_act_19_1_1172 |journal=Publications de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (Part of a thematic issue: Pratiques et discours alimentaires en Méditerranée de l'Antiquité à la Renaissance) |language=French |volume=19 |issue= |pages=409–436 |access-date=2023-04-30}} p. 418</ref> Unlike its popularity in Spain and limited presence in [[southern Italy]], the eggplant remained relatively obscure in other regions of Europe until the 17th century.<ref name=":4" />

The aubergine is unrecorded in England until the 16th century. An English botany book in 1597 described the madde or raging Apple:

{{blockquote|This plant groweth in Egypt almost everywhere... bringing foorth fruite of the bignes of a great Cucumber.... We have had the same in our London gardens, where it hath borne flowers, but the winter approching before the time of ripening, it perished: notwithstanding it came to beare fruite of the bignes of a goose egge one extraordinarie temperate yeere... but never to the full ripenesse.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000817749#page/274/mode/1up ''The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102054022/http://archive.org/stream/mobot31753000817749#page/274/mode/1up |date=2014-01-02 }}, by [[John Gerarde]], year 1597 page 274.</ref>}}

The Europeans brought it to the Americas.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The historical role of species from the Solanaceae plant family in genetic research |journal=Theor Appl Genet |last=Gebhardt |first=Christiane |issue=12 |volume=129 |pages=2281–2294 |doi=10.1007/s00122-016-2804-1 |year=2016 |language=English |pmc=5121176 |pmid=27744490 |quote="Later, it migrated with the Europeans to America"}} citing Daunay M-C, Laterrot H, Janick J (2008) Iconography and History of Solanaceae: Antiquity to the 17th Century. Horticultural Reviews. Wiley, New York, pp 1–111</ref>

Because of the plant's relationship with various other [[Solanaceae|nightshades]], the fruit was at one time believed to be extremely poisonous. The flowers and leaves can be poisonous if consumed in large quantities due to the presence of [[solanine]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kitchendaily.com/read/raw-eggplant-poisonous?wwu=10|title=Is Raw Eggplant Poisonous?|date=30 August 2012|work=Kitchen Daily|access-date=5 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905065145/http://www.kitchendaily.com/read/raw-eggplant-poisonous?wwu=10|archive-date=5 September 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The eggplant has a special place in [[folklore]]. In 13th-century Italian traditional folklore, the eggplant can cause insanity.<ref name="oed-mad-apple">''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 3rd edition, 2000, ''s.v.'' 'mad-apple'</ref> In 19th-century Egypt, insanity was said to be "more common and more violent" when the eggplant is in season in the summer.<ref>[[Edward William Lane]], ''An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians'', v. 1, [https://archive.org/details/anaccountmanner06lanegoog/page/n408 p. 378], footnote 1.</ref>

==Cultivars==
{{no footnotes|section|date=December 2018}}
[[File:Three Types of Eggplant.jpg|thumb|Three [[cultivar]]s of eggplant, showing size, shape, and color differences]]

Different [[cultivar]]s of the plant produce fruit of different size, shape, and color, though typically purple. The less common white varieties of eggplant are also known as Easter white eggplants, garden eggs, Casper or white eggplant. The most widely cultivated varieties—[[cultivar]]s—in Europe and North America today are elongated ovoid, {{convert|12–25|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|6–9|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} broad with a dark purple skin.

A much wider range of shapes, sizes, and colors is grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. Larger cultivars weighing up to a kilogram (2.2 pounds) grow in the region between the [[Ganges]] and [[Yamuna]] Rivers, while smaller ones are found elsewhere.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} Colors vary from white to yellow or green, as well as reddish-purple and dark purple. Some cultivars have a color gradient—white at the stem, to bright pink, deep purple or even black. Green or purple cultivars with white striping also exist. Chinese cultivars are commonly shaped like a narrower, slightly pendulous [[cucumber]]. Also, Asian cultivars of Japanese breeding are grown.
* Oval or elongated oval-shaped and black-skinned cultivars include 'Harris Special Hibush', 'Burpee Hybrid', 'Bringal Bloom', 'Black Magic', 'Classic', 'Dusky', and 'Black Beauty'.
* Slim cultivars in purple-black skin include 'Little Fingers', 'Ichiban', 'Pingtung Long', and 'Tycoon'
** In green skin, 'Louisiana Long Green' and 'Thai (Long) Green'
** In white skin, 'Dourga'.
* Traditional, white-skinned, egg-shaped cultivars include 'Casper' and 'Easter Egg'.
* Bicolored cultivars with color gradient include 'Rosa Bianca', 'Violetta di Firenze', 'Bianca Sfumata di Rosa' (heirloom), and 'Prosperosa' (heirloom).
* Bicolored cultivars with striping include 'Listada de Gandia' and 'Udumalapet'.
* In some parts of India, miniature cultivars, most commonly called ''baigan,'' are popular.

=== Varieties ===
* ''S. m.'' var. ''esculentum'' – common aubergine, including white varieties, with many cultivars<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MV/MV06100.pdf|title=Eggplant, White – Solanum ovigerum Dun. and Solanum melongena var. esculentum (L.) Nees.|last=Stephens|first=James M.|publisher=University of Florida IFAS Extension|access-date=31 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009001201/http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MV/MV06100.pdf|archive-date=9 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''S. m.'' var. ''depressum'' – dwarf aubergine
* ''S. m.'' var. ''serpentium'' – snake aubergine

====Genetically engineered eggplant====
[[Bt brinjal]] is a [[genetically modified food|transgenic]] eggplant that contains a gene from the soil bacterium ''[[Bacillus thuringiensis]]''.<ref name="kumar">{{cite journal|journal=GM Crops|year=2011|volume=2|issue=2|pages=92–8|doi=10.4161/gmcr.2.2.16335|title=Bt brinjal in India: a long way to go|vauthors=Kumar S, Misra A, Verma AK, Roy R, Tripathi A, Ansari KM, Das M, Dwivedi PD |pmid=21865863|bibcode=2011GMCFB...2...92K |s2cid=10912063}}</ref> This variety was designed to give the plant resistance to [[lepidoptera]]n insects such as the brinjal fruit and shoot borer (''[[Leucinodes orbonalis]]'') and fruit borer (''[[Helicoverpa armigera]]'').<ref name="kumar" /><ref>{{cite journal|journal=J Environ Biol|year=2008|volume=29|issue=5|pages=641–53|title=Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenic crop: an environment friendly insect-pest management strategy|vauthors=Kumar S, Chandra A, Pandey KC |pmid=19295059}}</ref>

On 9 February 2010, the Environment Ministry of India imposed a moratorium on the cultivation of Bt brinjal after protests against regulatory approval of cultivated Bt brinjal in 2009, stating the moratorium would last "for as long as it is needed to establish public trust and confidence".<ref name="kumar" /> This decision was deemed controversial, as it deviated from previous practices with other [[genetically modified crops]] in India.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Plant Biotechnol J|year=2014|volume=12|issue=2|pages=135–46|doi=10.1111/pbi.12155|title=Regulatory options for genetically modified crops in India|vauthors=Choudhary B, Gheysen G, Buysse J, van der Meer P, Burssens S |pmid=24460889|bibcode=2014PBioJ..12..135C |doi-access=free}}</ref> Bt brinjal was approved for commercial cultivation in Bangladesh in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/bt-brinjal-in-bangladesh-too-early-to-draw-conclusions-on-contamination-says-expert-116090701455_1.html|title=Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh: Too early to draw conclusions on contamination, says expert|agency=Indo-Asian News Service|date=2016-09-07|newspaper=Business Standard|location=India|access-date=2016-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201020055/http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/bt-brinjal-in-bangladesh-too-early-to-draw-conclusions-on-contamination-says-expert-116090701455_1.html|archive-date=2016-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Uses==
===Culinary===
{{Cookbook|Eggplant}}{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2018}}

Raw eggplant can have a [[bitter taste]], with an [[astringent]] quality, but it becomes tender when cooked and develops a rich, complex flavor. Rinsing, draining, and salting the sliced fruit before cooking may remove the bitterness.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/aubergine |title=Aubergine |publisher=BBC GoodFood |access-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116220052/https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/aubergine |archive-date=16 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The fruit is capable of absorbing [[cooking fat]]s and sauces, which may enhance the flavor of eggplant dishes.

Eggplant is used in [[List of cuisines|the cuisines of many countries]]. Due to its texture and bulk, it is sometimes used as a [[meat substitute]] in [[Vegan cuisine|vegan]] and [[vegetarian cuisine]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vegetarians.co.nz/articles/vegetarian-meat-substitutes/|title=Vegetarian Meat Substitutes|access-date=2013-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209094700/http://www.vegetarians.co.nz/articles/vegetarian-meat-substitutes/|archive-date=9 February 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Eggplant flesh is smooth. Its numerous seeds are small, soft and edible, along with the rest of the fruit, and do not have to be removed. Its thin skin is also edible, and so it does not have to be peeled. However, the green part at the top, the [[Calyx (flower)|calyx]], does have to be removed when preparing an eggplant for cooking.

Eggplant can be steamed, stir-fried, pan fried, deep fried, barbecued, roasted, stewed, curried, or pickled. Many eggplant dishes are sauces made by mashing the cooked fruit. It can be stuffed. It is frequently, but not always, cooked with oil or fat.

==== East Asia ====
Korean and Japanese eggplant varieties are typically thin-skinned.<ref name="JinPittsburgh">{{Cite news|last=JinPittsburgh|first=Liyun|title=Korean restaurant owner cooks from the heart Andy Starnes/Post-Gazette|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/life/food/2009/08/13/Korean-restaurant-owner-cooks-from-the-heart/stories/200908130259|access-date=3 February 2018|work=[[Post-Gazette]]|date=13 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203180953/http://www.post-gazette.com/life/food/2009/08/13/Korean-restaurant-owner-cooks-from-the-heart/stories/200908130259|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[Chinese cuisine]], eggplants are known as ''qiézi'' ({{lang|zh|茄子}}). They are often [[Deep frying|deep fried]] and made into dishes such as ''[[Yuxiang|yúxiāng]]-qiézi'' ("fish fragrance eggplant")<ref name="Leary">{{Cite news|last1=Leary|first1=Charles L.|last2=Perret|first2=Vaughn J.|title=All the hallmarks of world-class cuisine|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/food-drink/1484013-all-the-hallmarks-of-world-class-cuisine|access-date=3 February 2018|work=[[The Chronicle Herald]]|date=6 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203181819/http://thechronicleherald.ca/food-drink/1484013-all-the-hallmarks-of-world-class-cuisine|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> or ''[[di sān xiān]]'' ("three earthen treasures"). Elsewhere in China, such as in [[Yunnan cuisine]] (in particular the cuisine of the [[Dai people]]) they are barbecued or roasted, then split and either eaten directly with garlic, chilli, oil and coriander, or the flesh is removed and pounded to a mash (typically with a wooden pestle and mortar) before being eaten with rice or other dishes.

In [[Japanese cuisine]], eggplants are known as ''nasu'' or ''nasubi'' and use the [[Kanji|same characters]] as Chinese ({{lang|ja|茄子}}). An example of it use is in the dish ''hasamiyaki'' ({{lang|ja|挟み焼き}}) in which slices of eggplant are grilled and filled with a meat stuffing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%AF%E3%81%95%E3%81%BF%E7%84%BC%E3%81%8D|title=Jisho.org: Japanese Dictionary|website=jisho.org}}</ref> Eggplants also feature in several Japanese expression and proverbs, such as {{nihongo|"Don't feed autumn eggplant to your wife"|{{Wikt-lang|ja|秋茄子は嫁に食わすな|秋茄子は嫁に食わすな|i}}|akinasu wa yome ni kuwasuna}} (because their lack of seeds will reduce her fertility) and {{nihongo|"Always listen to your parents"|{{Wikt-lang|ja|親の意見と茄子の花は千に一つも無駄はない|親の意見と茄子の花は千に一つも無駄はない|i}}|oya no iken to nasu no hana wa sen ni hitotsu mo muda wa nai|literally: "not even one in a thousand of one's parents' opinions or the eggplant flowers is in vain"}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jisho.org/word/%E7%A7%8B%E8%8C%84%E5%AD%90%E3%81%AF%E5%AB%81%E3%81%AB%E9%A3%9F%E3%82%8F%E3%81%99%E3%81%AA|title=Jisho.org: Japanese Dictionary|website=jisho.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jisho.org/search/%E8%A6%AA%E3%81%AE%E6%84%8F%E8%A6%8B%E3%81%A8%E8%8C%84%E5%AD%90%E3%81%AE%E8%8A%B1%E3%81%AF%E5%8D%83%E3%81%AB%E4%B8%80%E3%81%A4%E3%82%82%E7%84%A1%E9%A7%84%E3%81%AF%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84|title=親の意見と茄子の花は千に一つも無駄はない – Jisho.org|website=jisho.org}}</ref>

In [[Korean cuisine]], eggplants are known as ''gaji'' ({{lang|ko|가지}}). They are steamed, [[Stir frying|stir-fried]], or pan-fried and eaten as [[banchan]] (side dishes), such as ''[[namul]]'', ''[[bokkeum]]'', and ''[[Jeon (food)|jeon]]''.<ref name="Maclang">{{Cite news|last=Maclang|first=Jon Khristian|title=North, South, Go Pick! Tasting Korean Fare in Beijing|url=http://en.yibada.com/articles/111614/20160325/north-south-you-pick-tasting-korean-fare-in-beijing.htm|access-date=3 February 2018|work=[[Yibada]]|date=25 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203181525/http://en.yibada.com/articles/111614/20160325/north-south-you-pick-tasting-korean-fare-in-beijing.htm|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="TKH">{{Cite news|author=The Korea Herald|author-link=The Korea Herald|title=Fuss-free stir-fried eggplants, a perfect side dish|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/fuss-free-stir-fried-eggplants-a-perfect-side-dish|access-date=3 February 2018|work=[[The Straits Times]]|date=14 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203181544/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/fuss-free-stir-fried-eggplants-a-perfect-side-dish|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
Qiezi.jpg|Chinese ''[[yuxiang|yúxiāng]]-qiézi'' (fish-fragrance eggplants)
Dureup-gaji-jeon.jpg|Korean ''[[dureup]]-gaji-[[jeon (food)|jeon]]'' (pan-fried eggplants and angelica tree shoots)
Baby eggplant tsukemono by wilbanks in Nishiki-ichiba, Kyoto.jpg|Japanese ''[[asazuke]]'' pickles with baby eggplants
</gallery>

==== Southeast Asia ====
In the [[Philippines]], eggplants are of the long and slender purple variety. They are known as ''talong'' and is widely used in many stew and soup dishes, like ''[[pinakbet]]''.<ref name="olizon">{{cite book|author =Norma Olizon-Chikiamco|title =Filipino Favorites|publisher =Tuttle Publishing|series =Periplus Mini Cookbooks|year =2003|isbn =9781462911028|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=DEbRAgAAQBAJ|access-date =2018-12-06|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192627/https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=DEbRAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover|archive-date =2018-12-06|url-status =live}}</ref> However the most popular eggplant dish is ''[[tortang talong]]'', an omelette made from grilling an eggplant, dipping it into beaten eggs, and pan-frying the mixture. The dish is characteristically served with the stalk attached. The dish has several variants, including ''rellenong talong'' which is stuffed with meat and vegetables.<ref name="Ponseca">{{cite book|author =Nicole Ponseca & Miguel Trinidad|title =I Am a Filipino: And This Is How We Cook|publisher =Artisan Books|year =2018|isbn =9781579658823|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=63BMDwAAQBAJ|access-date =2018-12-06|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192625/https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=63BMDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover|archive-date =2018-12-06|url-status =live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Happy Home Cook: Rellenong Talong (Stuffed Eggplant) |url=http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-rellenong-talong-stuffed-eggplant |website=Positively Filipino |date=17 August 2016 |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192728/http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-happy-home-cook-rellenong-talong-stuffed-eggplant |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Eggplant can also be grilled, skinned and eaten as a salad called ''ensaladang talong''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ensaladang talong |url=https://eatyourworld.com/destinations/asia/philippines/manila/what_to_eat/ensaladang_talong |website=Eat Your World |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206234957/https://eatyourworld.com/destinations/asia/philippines/manila/what_to_eat/ensaladang_talong |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another popular dish is ''adobong talong'', which is diced eggplant prepared with vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic as an ''[[Philippine adobo|adobo]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adobong Talong |url=https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/adobong-talong/ |website=Kawaling Pinoy |access-date=6 December 2018 |date=2014-01-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192614/https://www.kawalingpinoy.com/adobong-talong/ |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
SAMBAL BALADO TERONG UDANG.jpg|Indonesian chili ''terong'' sauce with shrimp
Terong Balado 1.jpg|Minang (West Sumatra) balado ''terong''
File:Kepala Ikan Tenggiri Asam Pedas Terung (cropped).jpg|Sweet and sour fish head with ''terong''
Terong Goreng.jpg|Simple fried ''terong'' from Gorontalo (Sulawesi)
File:Rellenong_talong.jpg|Philippine ''[[tortang talong|rellenong talong]]'', an eggplant omelette stuffed with ground meat and vegetables
File:03073jfEnsaladang Talong Bulacanfvf 06.jpg|Philippine ''[[ensaladang talong]]'', a salad on grilled and skinned green eggplant
</gallery>

==== South Asia ====
Eggplant is widely used in its native [[Indian cuisine|India]], for example in ''[[sambar (dish)|sambar]]'' (a tamarind lentil stew), ''dalma'' (a ''[[dal]]'' preparation with vegetables, native to [[Odisha]]), [[chutney]], [[curry]] ([[vankai]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khiangte |first1=Zorinpuii |last2=Lalramnghinglova |first2=H |title=An Ethno Botanical Study of Ralte Communities in the North Eastern Part of Mizoram, North East India |journal=Journal of Natural Product and Plant Resources |date=2017 |volume=7 |issue=4 |url=https://www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com/articles/an-ethno-botanical-study-of-ralte-communities-in-the-north-eastern-part-of-mizoram-north-east-india-13183.html |access-date=21 August 2023 |publisher=Mizoram University |location=India}}</ref>), and ''[[Indian pickle|achaar]]'' (a pickled dish). Owing to its versatile nature and wide use in both everyday and festive Indian food, it is often described as the "king of vegetables". Roasted, skinned, mashed, mixed with [[onion]]s, [[tomato]]es, and [[spice]]s, and then slow cooked gives the [[South Asian cuisine|South Asian]] dish ''[[baingan bharta]]'' or ''gojju'', similar to ''[[salată de vinete]]'' in [[Romanian cuisine|Romania]]. Another version of the dish, ''begun-pora'' (eggplant charred or burnt), is very popular in Bangladesh and the east Indian states of [[Odisha]] and [[West Bengal]] where the pulp of the vegetable is mixed with raw chopped shallot, green chilies, salt, fresh coriander, and mustard oil. Sometimes fried tomatoes and deep-fried potatoes are also added, creating a dish called ''begun bhorta''. In a dish from Maharashtra called {{Transliteration|mr|bharli vangi}}, small brinjals are stuffed with ground [[coconut]], [[peanut]]s, onions, tamarind, jaggery and [[Masala (spice)|masala spices]], and then cooked in oil. Maharashtra and the adjacent state of Karnataka also have an eggplant-based vegetarian pilaf called 'vangi bhat'.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/vangi-bhaat-recipe/ |title=Maharashtrian Vangi Bhat recipe |access-date=5 January 2020}}{{dead link|date=January 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Accessed 2 Jan 2019</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
Brinjal Masala Fry.JPG|Brinjal masala fry
Brinjal&Mango Sambar.JPG|Brinjal and mango sambar
</gallery>

==== Middle East and the Mediterranean ====
Eggplant is often stewed, as in the French ''[[ratatouille]]'', or deep-fried as in the [[Italian cuisine|Italian]] ''[[Parmigiana|parmigiana di melanzane]]'', the Turkish ''[[karnıyarık]]'', or Turkish, Greek, and [[Levantine cuisine|Levantine]] ''musakka/[[moussaka]]'', and [[Middle Eastern cuisine|Middle Eastern]] and South Asian dishes. Eggplants can also be battered before deep-frying and served with a sauce made of [[tahini]] and tamarind. In [[Iranian cuisine]], it is blended with whey as ''[[kashk e bademjan]]'', tomatoes as ''[[Mirza Ghassemi|mirza ghassemi]]'', or made into stew as ''[[Khoresh bademjan|khoresht-e-bademjan]]''. It can be sliced and deep-fried, then served with plain [[yogurt]] (optionally topped with a tomato and garlic sauce), such as in the [[Turkish cuisine|Turkish dish]] ''patlıcan kızartması'' (meaning fried aubergines), or without yogurt, as in ''patlıcan şakşuka''. Perhaps the best-known Turkish eggplant dishes are ''[[imam bayıldı]]'' (vegetarian) and ''[[karnıyarık]]'' (with minced meat). It may also be roasted in its skin until charred, so the pulp can be removed and blended with other ingredients, such as lemon, tahini, and garlic, as in the [[Levantine cuisine|Levantine]] ''[[baba ghanoush]],'' [[Greek cuisine|Greek]] ''[[melitzanosalata]],'' Moroccan ''[[zaalouk]]''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wolfert |first=Paula |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dlIhiFC4L_sC&dq=zaalouk+morocco&pg=PA93 |title=The Food of Morocco |date=2012-01-01 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4088-2746-8 |pages=93 |language=en}}</ref> and Romanian ''salată de vinete''.<ref name="Marin">{{Cite book |title=Carte de bucate (Cookbook)|last=Marin |first=Sanda |publisher=Editura Orizonturi |year=1995 |isbn=973-95583-2-1 |location=București (Bucharest) |pages=31–32 |language=Romanian}}</ref><ref name="Jurcovan">{{Cite book |title=Carte de bucate (Cookbook)|last=Jurcovan|first=Silvia |publisher=Editura Humanitas|year=2012|isbn=978-973-50-3475-7 |location=București (Bucharest) |pages=90–91 |language=Romanian}}</ref> A mix of roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, chopped onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, celery, and spices is called ''[[zacuscă]]'' in [[Romanian cuisine|Romania]], and ''[[ajvar]]'' or ''[[pinjur]]'' in the [[Balkan cuisine|Balkans]].

A Spanish dish called ''[[escalivada]]'' in [[Catalonia]] calls for strips of roasted aubergine, sweet pepper, onion, and tomato. In [[Andalusia]], eggplant is mostly cooked thinly sliced, deep-fried in olive oil and served hot with honey (''berenjenas a la Cordobesa''). In the [[La Mancha]] region of central Spain, a small eggplant is pickled in vinegar, paprika, olive oil, and red peppers. The result is berenjena of [[Almagro, Ciudad Real]].

In the Eastern Mediterranean (including the Balkans), eggplant is prepared as [[dolma]], i.e. hollowed out and stuffed with meat, rice, or other fillings, and then baked or braised. A Levantine specialty is ''[[makdous]]'', another pickling of eggplants, stuffed with red peppers and walnuts in olive oil.  In [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], eggplant is fried and stuffed with [[walnut paste]] to make ''[[nigvziani badrijani]]''.<ref name=":1">Lim, T. K., & Lim, T. K. (2013). Solanum melongena. ''Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants: Volume 6, Fruits'', p. 370–372</ref>

In [[Spain in the Middle Ages|medieval Spain]], eggplant, along with ingredients such as Swiss chard and chickpeas, was closely associated with [[Jews|Jewish]] cuisine.<ref name=":5">Gardner, S. M. (2018). The Good Woman Makes the Empty Kitchen Full: the Culinary and Cultural Power of Women in the Sephardic Jewish Diaspora. Dublin Gastronomy Symposium: 2018 – Food and Power</ref> The [[Kitāb al-Ṭabikh fī al-Maghrib wa al-Andalus fī ʽAṣr al-Muwaḥḥidīn, li-muʽallif majhūl|''Kitāb al-Ṭabikh'']], a 13th-century Andalusian cookbook, features eggplant as the main ingredient in fifteen out of its nineteen vegetable dishes, indicating its significance in the local cuisine at the time.<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Piñer |first=Hélène Jawhara |title=Jews, Food, and Spain: the oldest medieval Spanish cookbook and the Sephardic culinary heritage |date=2022 |publisher=Academic Studies Press |isbn=978-1-64469-919-5 |location=Boston |pages=72 |chapter=Part One: The Jews' Place in the Construction}}</ref> Jewish communities in Spain prepared eggplant in various ways, including in dishes like ''almodrote'', a casserole of eggplant and cheese. This dish and others became identifiers for Jews during their [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|expulsion from Spain]] and the [[Inquisition]], and they were carried by the expelled Jews to their new homes in the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name=":5" /> The classic [[Judaeo-Spanish]] song "''Siete modos de gizar la berendgena''" lists various methods of preparing eggplant that persisted among Jews in the Ottoman Empire.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=וייך-שחק |first=שושנה |date=1992 |title=סדר ומספר בשירה שבעל-פה של יהודי ספרד |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23424987 |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry / פעמים: רבעון לחקר קהילות ישראל במזרח |issue=50 |pages=137–138 |jstor=23424987 |issn=0334-4088}}</ref> Today, eggplant remains a defining ingredient of [[Sephardic Jewish cuisine]].<ref name=":3">Tan, A. Ö., & Hosking, R. (2010). Empanadas With Turkish Delight Or Borekitas de Lokum? The Sweet-Sour Journey of Sephardic Cuisine and Ladino Language. In ''Food and Language. Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2009'' (pp. 341).</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
Melanzane alla Parmigiana.jpg|[[Parmigiana|Parmigiana di melanzane]] (eggplant Parmesan)
File:MussakasMeMelitsanesKePatates01.JPG|Greek [[moussaka]]
Penne with eggplant and basil in yogurt-tomato sauce.jpg|[[Penne]] with eggplant and [[basil]] in yogurt-tomato sauce
Berenjenas-Almagro.jpg|[[Almagro, Ciudad Real|Almagro]] eggplant
File:Ratatouille.jpg|[[Ratatouille]] niçoise
Salată de vinete.jpg|Romanian eggplant salad (salată de vinete)
</gallery>

==== Iran ====
In [[Iranian cuisine]], eggplant (called ''bādenjān'' or ''bādemjān'' in [[Persian language|Persian]]) can be used in both appetizers and main courses.<ref name="Iranica">{{cite web |last1=Aubaile-Sallenave |first1=F. |last2=Elahi |first2=E. |title=BĀDENJĀN |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/badenjan-egeplant-aubergine |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref> It can also be pickled in vinegar.<ref name="Iranica"/> The ideal eggplant in Iranian cuisine is long, straight, firm, and black.<ref name="Iranica"/> Based on how [[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi|al-Razi]] uses the color of eggplant as a shorthand for purpleness in his ''[[Al-Hawi|Kitab al-hawi]]'', it can be assumed that the dark purple kind of eggplant was the widely grown variety in Iran at his time (9th century).<ref name="Iranica"/> Its importance in Iran is alluded to in the ''[[Ain-i-Akbari]]'' of [[Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak]], which says "this vegetable is on sale in the markets in Iran all the year round and in such abundance that it is sold for 1.5 ''[[Dam (Indian coin)|dam]]''s per [[Seer (unit)|seer]]" (which was a cheap price at that time).<ref name="Iranica"/>

In Iran, unlike places like Greece, Turkey, and North Africa, eggplant is cooked peeled and usually seasoned with [[cinnamon]] or especially [[turmeric]].<ref name="Iranica"/> Most eggplant dishes are classified as ''nankhoreshi'' (eaten with bread), and they are commonly served as snacks alongside alcoholic beverages.<ref name="Iranica"/>

The 14th-century poet Boshaq At'ema refers to an early eggplant dish called ''burani-e badenjan'': chopped eggplant sautéed with onions and turmeric, then slowly cooked, and finally mixed with [[yogurt]].<ref name="Iranica"/> The combination of eggplant and [[kashk]] (condensed whey) is popular in Iranian cuisine; it is found in dishes like ''[[kashk o badenjan]]'' as well as ''[[aush|ash]]-e kashk o badenjan'' (involving layers of sautéed eggplant, grilled onions, and red beans topped by kashk seasoned with turmeric).<ref name="Iranica"/> Another eggplant dish is ''mast o badenjan'', also known as ''nazkhatun'' in [[Tehran]], which involves eggplant, yogurt, and dried [[mentha|mint]].<ref name="Iranica"/> Eggplant can also be cooked in stews (''[[khoresh]]''es), either with lamb (''khoresh-e badenjan'') or with chicken and either unripe grapes or pomegranate juice (''mosamma-ye badenjan'').<ref name="Iranica"/> Variants of [[ab-gusht]], eshkana, [[fesenjan]], and [[kuku (food)|kuku]] also make use of eggplant.<ref name="Iranica"/> Some regional dishes involving eggplant include ''badenjan-polow'', a dish mainly from [[Fars province|Fars]] and [[Kerman province|Kerman]] that combines white rice with a paste of chopped sautéed eggplant, chopped meat, and spices; as well as the northern Iranian ''[[badenjan-e qasemi]]'', a casserole using grilled eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, and eggs.<ref name="Iranica"/>

Eggplants are traditionally among the foods that get preserved and stored for winter in Iran.<ref name="Iranica"/> They are selected in the last month of summer, when they are most readily available, then peeled, and finally preserved in one of two ways.<ref name="Iranica"/> In the first way, the peeled eggplants are cut, salted, and left to "sweat" (to make them less [[bilious]]); then they are sun-dried by hanging them on a line.<ref name="Iranica"/> The dried eggplants are then rehydrated 24 hours before being cooked.<ref name="Iranica"/> In the second way, the peeled eggplants are cooked in oil, put in a copper pot, and finally covered with plenty of hot oil, "which congeals to seal them".<ref name="Iranica"/>

Medieval Iranian writers such as al-Razi and [[al-Biruni]] cautioned that eggplant contains harmful qualities, and it must be ripe and cooked before eating to neutralize them.<ref name="Iranica"/> They wrote that it could cause heat and dryness and an excess of [[black bile]], contributing to a wide range of health problems.<ref name="Iranica"/> If the "salt" in it was removed, or it was cooked in oil or vinegar, then they wrote that eggplant gained healthy attributes.<ref name="Iranica"/> Present-day Iranian attitudes to the eggplant reflect this medical tradition's influence: the eggplant is "considered rather dangerous... a cook in Tehran will say that the poison must be taken out".<ref name="Iranica"/> People also use eggplant seeds as an [[expectorant]] to relieve [[asthma]] and [[catarrh]].<ref name="Iranica"/>

==Nutrition==
{{nutritionalvalue
| name=Eggplant, raw
| kJ=104
| protein=0.98 g
| fat=0.18 g
| carbs=5.88 g
| fiber=3 g
| sugars=3.53 g
| calcium_mg=9
| iron_mg=0.23
| magnesium_mg=14
| phosphorus_mg=24
| potassium_mg=229
| zinc_mg=0.16
| manganese_mg=0.232
| vitC_mg=2.2
| thiamin_mg=0.039
| riboflavin_mg=0.037
| niacin_mg=0.649
| pantothenic_mg=0.281
| vitB6_mg=0.084
| folate_ug=22
| vitE_mg=0.3
| vitK_ug=3.5
| water=92 g
| source_usda=1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169228/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]
}}
Raw eggplant is 92% water, 6% [[carbohydrate]]s, 1% [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], and has negligible [[fat]] (table). It provides low amounts of [[essential nutrient]]s, with only [[manganese]] having a moderate percentage (10%) of the [[Daily Value]]. Minor changes in nutrient composition occur with season, environment of cultivation (open field or [[greenhouse]]), and [[genotype]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=J Sci Food Agric|year=2014|volume=94|issue=13|pages=2774–84|title=Eggplant fruit composition as affected by the cultivation environment and genetic constitution|vauthors=San José R, Sánchez-Mata MC, Cámara M, Prohens J |pmid=25328929|doi=10.1002/jsfa.6623|bibcode=2014JSFA...94.2774S |url=https://riunet.upv.es/bitstream/10251/63156/4/Postprint_13_12_16.pdf|hdl=10251/63156|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==Cultivation and pests==
In [[tropical climate|tropical]] and [[subtropical climate]]s, eggplant can be sown in the garden. Eggplant grown in [[temperate]] climates fares better when transplanted into the garden after all danger of frost has passed. Eggplant prefers hot weather, and when grown in cold climates or in areas with low humidity, the plants languish or fail to set and produce mature fruit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-grow-eggplant-in-cooler-climates/|title=How to Grow Eggplant in Cooler Climates|access-date=2017-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411223946/https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-grow-eggplant-in-cooler-climates/|archive-date=2017-04-11|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gardenmentors.com/garden-help/grow-your-own-food/growing-eggplant-successfully-in-cooler-climates/|title=Growing Eggplant Successfully in Cooler Climates – Garden Mentors|date=16 August 2012|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828232655/http://gardenmentors.com/garden-help/grow-your-own-food/growing-eggplant-successfully-in-cooler-climates/|archive-date=28 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Seeds are typically started eight to 10 weeks prior to the anticipated [[Last frost|frost-free date]]. ''S. melongena'' is included on a list of low [[flammability]] plants, indicating that it is suitable for growing within a building protection zone.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mark Chladil and Jennifer Sheridan|title=Fire retardant garden plants for the urban fringe and rural areas|url=http://www.fire.tas.gov.au/publications/1709%20Brochure.pdf|website=fire.tas.gov.au|publisher=Tasmanian Fire Research Fund|access-date=2014-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316070841/http://fire.tas.gov.au/publications/1709%20Brochure.pdf|archive-date=16 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Spacing should be {{convert|45|to|60|cm|abbr=on|in}} between plants, depending on cultivar, and {{convert|60|to|90|cm|abbr=on|in}} between rows, depending on the type of cultivation equipment being used. [[Mulch]]ing helps conserve moisture and prevent weeds and fungal diseases and the plants benefit from some shade during the hottest part of the day. [[Hand pollination]] by shaking the flowers improves the set of the first blossoms. Growers typically cut fruits from the vine just above the calyx owing to the somewhat woody stems. Flowers are [[Plant sexuality#Basic flower morphology|complete]], containing both female and male structures, and may be [[Self-pollination|self-]] or [[Cross pollination#Mechanics|cross-pollinated]].<ref name="Polination of Vegetable Crops">{{cite web| last=Westerfield| first=Robert| url=http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/PDF/C934.pdf| title=Pollination of Vegetable Crops| access-date=2009-07-01| date=2008-11-14| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613160517/http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/PDF/C934.pdf| archive-date=2010-06-13}}</ref>

Many of the pests and diseases that afflict other [[Solanaceae|solanaceous]] plants, such as tomato, capsicum, and potato, are also troublesome to eggplants. For this reason, it should generally not be planted in areas previously occupied by its close relatives. However, since eggplants can be particularly susceptible to pests such as [[Whitefly|whiteflies]], they are sometimes grown with slightly less susceptible plants, such as [[chili pepper]], as a sacrificial [[trap crop]]. Four years should separate successive crops of eggplants to reduce pest pressure.<ref>{{Citation |last=Lichtenberg |first=E. |title=Economics of Pesticide Use and Regulation |date=2013 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Energy, Natural Resource, and Environmental Economics |pages=86–97 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/trap-crop |access-date=2024-08-30 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-375067-9.00092-9 |isbn=978-0-08-096452-2|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Common North American pests include the [[Colorado potato beetle|potato beetles]], [[flea beetle]]s, [[aphid]]s, whiteflies, and [[Tetranychus urticae|spider mites]]. Good sanitation and [[crop rotation]] practices are extremely important for controlling fungal disease, the most serious of which is ''[[Verticillium]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ayele |first1=Addissu G. |last2=Wheeler |first2=Terry A. |last3=Dever |first3=Jane K. |date=2020-07-07 |title=Impacts of Verticillium Wilt on Photosynthesis Rate, Lint Production, and Fiber Quality of Greenhouse-Grown Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) |journal=Plants |volume=9 |issue=7 |pages=857 |doi=10.3390/plants9070857 |doi-access=free |issn=2223-7747 |pmc=7412487 |pmid=32646004 |bibcode=2020Plnts...9..857A }}</ref>

The potato tuber moth (''[[Phthorimaea operculella]]'') is an oligophagous insect that prefers to feed on plants of the family Solanaceae such as eggplants. Female ''P. operculella'' use the leaves to lay their eggs and the hatched larvae will eat away at the mesophyll of the leaf.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Varela|first1=L. G.|last2=Bernays|first2=E. A.|date=1988-07-01|title=Behavior of newly hatched potato tuber moth larvae, Phthorimaea operculella Zell. (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in relation to their host plants|journal=Journal of Insect Behavior|language=en|volume=1|issue=3|pages=261–275|doi=10.1007/BF01054525|bibcode=1988JIBeh...1..261V |s2cid=19062069|issn=0892-7553}}</ref>

Several different ''[[Phytoplasma]]s'' cause [[little leaf of brinjal]], which is agriculturally significant in South Asia. This is spread by the [[leafhopper]] ''Hishimonus phycitis''.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Production==
{{Table alignment}}

{| class="wikitable floatright col2right"

|+ Eggplant production <br>{{small|2023, millions of [[tonne]]s}}
|-
| {{CHN}}||39.2
|-
| {{IND}}||12.8
|-
| {{EGY}}||1.9
|-
| {{TUR}}||0.80
|-
| {{IDN}}||0.70
|-
| '''World''' || '''60.8'''
|-
|colspan=2|{{small|Source: [[FAOSTAT]]<br> of the [[United Nations]]}}<ref name="fao">{{cite web|url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL|title=Eggplant production in 2023, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists)|date=2025|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=15 April 2025}}</ref>
|}

In 2023, world production of eggplants was 61 million [[tonne]]s, led by China with 64% and India with 21% of the total (table).

== Chemistry ==
The color of purple skin cultivars is due to the [[anthocyanin]] [[nasunin]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0300-483X(00)00202-X| pmid = 10962130| title = Antioxidant activity of nasunin, an anthocyanin in eggplant peels| journal = Toxicology| volume = 148| issue = 2–3| pages = 119–23| year = 2000| last1 = Noda| first1 = Yasuko| last2 = Kneyuki| first2 = Takao| last3 = Igarashi| first3 = Kiharu| last4 = Mori| first4 = Akitane| last5 = Packer| first5 = Lester| bibcode = 2000Toxgy.148..119N}}</ref>

The [[Browning (food process)|browning]] of eggplant flesh results from the [[redox|oxidation]] of [[polyphenols]], such as the most abundant [[phenolic compound]] in the fruit, [[chlorogenic acid]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Total Phenolic Concentration and Browning Susceptibility in a Collection of Different Varietal Types and Hybrids of Eggplant: Implications for Breeding for Higher Nutritional Quality and Reduced Browning|author1=Jaime Prohens |author2=Adrián Rodríguez-Burruezo |author3=María Dolores Raigón |author4=Fernando Nuez |volume=132|issue=5|pages=638–646|year=2007|journal= Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science|doi=10.21273/jashs.132.5.638|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Allergies==

Case reports of itchy skin or mouth, mild headache, and stomach upset after handling or eating eggplant have been reported anecdotally and published in medical journals (see also [[oral allergy syndrome]]).<ref name="berghi">{{cite journal |vauthors=Berghi ON, Vrinceanu D, Cergan R, Dumitru M, Costache A |title=Solanum melongena allergy (A comprehensive review) |journal=Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine |volume=22 |issue=4 |article-number=1061 |date=October 2021 |pmid=34434275 |pmc=8353643 |doi=10.3892/etm.2021.10495}}</ref> A 2021 review indicated that possibly four interacting mechanisms may elicit an [[allergic response]] from consuming eggplant: [[Plant lipid transfer proteins|lipid transfer protein]], [[profilin]], [[polyphenol oxidase]], and pollen reactions.<ref name=berghi/><ref>{{cite journal |first1=S. N. |last1=Pramod |first2=Y. P. |last2=Venkatesh |title=Allergy to Eggplant (Solanum melongena) Caused by a Putative Secondary Metabolite |journal=Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology |year=2008 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=59–62 |pmid=18361104 }}</ref>

A 2008 study of a sample of 741 people in India, where eggplant is commonly consumed, found nearly 10% reported some allergic symptoms after consuming eggplant, with 1.4% showing symptoms within two hours.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=B. N. |last1=Harish Babu |first2=P. A. |last2=Mahesh |first3=Y. P. |last3=Venkatesh |title=A cross-sectional study on the prevalence of food allergy to eggplant (''Solanum melongena'' L.) reveals female predominance |journal=Clinical & Experimental Allergy |volume=38 |issue=11 |pages=1795–1802 |year=2008 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2222.2008.03076.x |pmid=18681854 |s2cid=2529638 }}</ref> Contact dermatitis from eggplant leaves and allergy to eggplant flower pollen have also been reported.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kabashima |first1=K. |last2=Miyachi |first2=Y. |title=Contact dermatitis due to eggplant |journal=Contact Dermatitis |year=2004 |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=101–102 |doi=10.1111/j.0105-1873.2004.0295c.x |pmid=15128323 |s2cid=44805864 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gerth van Wijk |first1=R. |last2=Toorenenbergen |first2=A. W. |last3=Dieges |first3=P. H. |title=Occupational pollinosis in commercial gardeners |language=nl |journal=Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd |year=1989 |volume=133 |issue=42 |pages=2081–3 |pmid=2812095 }}</ref>

Individuals who are [[atopic]] (genetically predisposed to developing certain allergic [[hypersensitivity]] reactions) are more likely to have a reaction to eggplant, which may be because eggplant is high in [[histamine]]s.<ref name=berghi/> Cooking eggplant thoroughly seems to preclude reactions in some individuals, but some of the allergenic proteins may survive the cooking process.

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Segmented aubergine Thailand.jpg|thumb|Segmented purple eggplant]]

The eggplant is quite often featured in the older scientific literature under the [[junior synonym]]s ''S. ovigerum'' and ''S. trongum''. Several other names that are now invalid have been uniquely applied to it:<ref name="ss2008">[https://solanaceaesource.myspecies.info/solanaceae/solanum-melongena-0 ''Solanum melongena'' L. on Solanaceae Source] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310174529/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/projects/solanaceaesource/taxonomy/description-detail.jsp?spnumber=3819 |date=10 March 2008 }}: Images, specimens and a full list of scientific synonyms previously used to refer to the eggplant.</ref>
* ''Melongena ovata'' {{small|Mill.}}
* ''Solanum album'' {{small|Noronha}}
* ''Solanum insanum'' {{small|L.}}
* ''Solanum longum'' {{small|Roxb.}}
* ''Solanum melanocarpum'' {{small|Dunal}}
* ''Solanum melongenum'' {{small|St.-Lag.}}
* ''Solanum oviferum'' {{small|Salisb.}}
* ''Prachi'' {{small|Salisb.}}

A number of [[subspecies]] and [[variety (botany)|varieties]] have been named, mainly by Dikii, Dunal, and (invalidly) by Sweet. Names for various eggplant types, such as {{lang|la|agreste, album, divaricatum, esculentum, giganteum, globosi, inerme, insanum, leucoum, luteum, multifidum, oblongo-cylindricum, ovigera, racemiflorum, racemosum, ruber, rumphii, sinuatorepandum, stenoleucum, subrepandum, tongdongense, variegatum, violaceum, viride}}, are not considered to refer to anything more than cultivar groups at best. However, ''[[Solanum incanum]]'' and [[cockroach berry]] (''S. capsicoides''), other eggplant-like nightshades described by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] and [[Carlo Allioni|Allioni]], respectively, were occasionally considered eggplant varieties, but this is not correct.<ref name = ss2008 />

The eggplant has a long history of [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] confusion with the [[scarlet eggplant|scarlet]] and [[Ethiopian eggplant|Ethiopian]] eggplants (''[[Solanum aethiopicum]])'', known as ''gilo'' and ''nakati'', respectively, and described by Linnaeus as ''S. aethiopicum''. The eggplant was sometimes considered a variety ''violaceum'' of that species. ''S. violaceum'' of [[A. P. de Candolle|de Candolle]] applies to Linnaeus' ''S. aethiopicum''. An actual ''S. violaceum'', an unrelated plant described by Ortega, included Dunal's ''S. amblymerum'' and was often confused with the same author's ''S. brownii''.<ref name = ss2008 />

Like the potato and ''S. lichtensteinii'', but unlike the tomato, which then was generally put in a different genus, the eggplant was also described as ''[[Solanum esculentum|S. esculentum]]'', in this case once more in the course of [[Michel Félix Dunal|Dunal]]'s work. He also recognized the varieties ''aculeatum'', ''inerme'', and ''subinerme'' at that time. Similarly, [[Heinrich Christian Friedrich Schumacher|H.C.F. Schuhmacher]] and [[Peter Thonning]] named the eggplant as ''[[Solanum edule|S. edule]]'', which is also a junior synonym of [[sticky nightshade]] (''S. sisymbriifolium''). [[Giovanni Antonio Scopoli|Scopoli]]'s ''S. zeylanicum'' refers to the eggplant, and that of Blanco to ''[[Solanum lasiocarpum|S. lasiocarpum]]''.<ref name = ss2008 />

== Culture ==
Vegetable orchestras, such as the [[London Vegetable Orchestra]] use [[zucchini]] trumpets, [[butternut squash]] trombones, [[pumpkin]] drums and aubergine castanets.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Singh |first=Maanvi |date=2016-05-27 |title=Check Out These Musicians Who Literally Play With Their Food |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/05/27/479333096/check-out-these-musicians-who-literally-play-with-their-food |access-date=2025-04-07 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref> Other vegetables played include carrots, [[bell pepper]]s, [[potato]]es and [[parsnip]]s.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-07 |title=Britain's King Charles joins vegetable orchestra in humorous Windsor Castle musical event |url=https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/international/britains-king-charles-joins-vegetable-orchestra-in-humorous-windsor-castle-musical-event/ |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=in-cyprus.philenews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{commons category}}
{{wiktionary|eggplant|aubergine|brinjal}}
{{portal|Food}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=15em|small=yes}}
* [[List of eggplant cultivars]]
* [[Eggplant emoji]]
* [[Eggplant production in China]]
* [[Eggplant salads and appetizers]]
* [[Imperial examination in Chinese mythology]]
* [[Lao eggplant]]
* [[List of eggplant dishes]]
* ''[[Solanum aethiopicum]]''
* [[Vietnamese eggplant]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->
{{Cookbook|Eggplant|position=left}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q7540}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eggplants| ]]
[[Category:Crops originating from India]]
[[Category:Crops originating from Pakistan]]
[[Category:Solanum]]
[[Category:Flora of the Maldives]]
[[Category:Fruits originating in Asia]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Tropical fruit]]
[[Category:Fruit vegetables]]