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Enjoy eggplant season

Get culinary inspiration with this lush and beautiful vegetable.

By Andrew Chase

We are in the midst of eggplant season. One of the world's most important vegetables, eggplants are appreciated for their rich flavour and meaty consistency as well as their natural beauty. We eat a lot less eggplant than the rest of the world, where centuries of cultivation have developed countless eggplant varieties. Here are just a few you can buy in our grocery stores and ethnic markets.

Click here to view a larger image of the different varieties of eggplant.

Some eggplant varieties
1. Sicilian eggplant
Thin-skinned, milder and sweeter than regular Italian eggplant.

2. Asian green eggplant
Crisp with light bitter edge.

3. White eggplant
Mild and tender.

4. Indian eggplant
Firm flesh with strong flavour.

5. Small Italian eggplant
With more intense flavour, denser texture and fewer seeds.

6. Thai pea eggplants
Wild variety pounded into Thai dipping sauces and added to curries for its bitter, herbaceous flavour and crisp texture.

7. Asian eggplant
Mild and sweet with tender skin and flesh.

8. Regular market eggplant
Fairly thick-skinned, full flavoured with slightly puffy flesh.

9. Variegated eggplant
Similar to regular eggplant with pretty purple and white variegated skin.

Try the following recipes:
• Grilled Eggplant and Garlic Salad
• Asian Eggplant in Black Bean Sauce
• Lentil Mushroom Moussaka
• Eggplant Salad Dip
• Baba Ghanoush

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