Eggplant...how to buy

[spaceman]

how do i choose a good eggplant at the market?
i am making eggplant parm for dinner and dnt want one of the nasty ones.

 

[FoBoT]

Choose Eggplant that are plump in size, firm and free of cracks and bruises.

Select eggplant that are ripe but not too ripe. When pressed, the skin of a perfectly ripe should indent but spring back. If the eggplant is too hard to indent, it is under-ripe, and if the mark does not spring back the eggplant is overripe. If too young, an eggplant will look and taste ?green? and have little eggplant flavor. Past its prime it will have a spongy interior and bitter flavor. Eggplants bruise easily when transported. Store them in a cool spot at about 50 degrees and use as soon as possible. Refrigerator storage causes some of the bitterness sometimes experienced with eggplant. Young or small eggplants that have a thin skin may be cooked without peeling.

 

[spaceman]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Choose Eggplant that are plump in size, firm and free of cracks and bruises.

ok so there is no unripe phase to an eggplant?(on store shelves.)

 

[se7en]

watch for scars or tan spots that is a sign of bad stuff underneath. Should be heavy, shiny and somewhat firm.. .. and I would buy it like a day ahead of time no more!

 

[jadinolf]

It's hard to pick out an eggplant by just looking at it. I hate the ones which have large seeds inside but you don't know it until you cut them open.

 

[mandala]

Choose an eggplant that is firm and smooth (older ones will be wrinkly and more squishy). I'd recommend that you get one that, when you look at the bottom of it, has a circlular brown spot (not an elongated one) because they tend to have fewer seeds.

You can also make it less bitter by coating the slices (once you slice it) with salt and letting them sit in a pan or a strainer for half an hour or so. This helps to pull out some of the bitterness (you'll see a brownish liquid collect in your pan/under your strainer). Just be sure to rinse and dry them before you cook them (to get rid of the excess salt).

 

[spaceman]

great advice from all.thnx!
nothing beats a good eggplant parm
and nothing ruins nasty eggplant...bleccch