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Local Food Journey

Unpaid Field Hand: Name this Crop

Posted by James Eisenstein on 09/14 at 11:38 AM

We have lots of customers who buy lettuce, onions, carrots, and beets. Then there are many who merely stroll by and say, “Everything looks beautiful.” True Fact: People who say, ”Everything looks beautiful” really mean, “I’m not going to buy a single thing.”

What is this wonderful, under-appreciated vegetable?

It comes in different colors and shapes, but most people expect them to be dark brown and egg shaped. They are distant cousins to tomatoes, sharing some primeval ancestor with other members of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family. 

Yes, it’s eggplant! And, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t touch them as a kid. I didn’t like eggs particularly, and anything named “eggplant” was an object of fear.

The developing slim, bright purple eggplant pictured above is an Asian variety, the kind you find in eggplant dishes in Asian restaurants.

Don’t know what to do with eggplant? Check out our recipe inspiration, and share your own this month for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Mount Nittany Winery.