Eggplant
Solanum melongena
A tropical nightshade fruit eaten cooked. Glossy skin and a green, not brown, calyx mark freshness. Related to tomato; needs more heat.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
Also called: aubergine
What it is
A tropical nightshade fruit eaten cooked. Glossy skin and a green, not brown, calyx mark freshness. Related to tomato; needs more heat.
Edible portions
- fruit, cooked
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Annual heat
- Light. Full sun, heat
- Soil. Rich, warm, well-drained
- Planting. Start indoors; do not rush into cold soil.
- Harvest. While skin is glossy and seeds still pale.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Roast, grill, braise; salting is optional with modern less-bitter types
Nutrition and compounds
- Vitamins (qualitative, well-known associations). fiber — not milligram values.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.