Every Eggplant Explained in 11 Minutes

Globe eggplant. Technically speaking, this vegetable is a fruit, and not just any fruit. It is classified as a berry by botanists, putting it in the same scientific category as bananas and watermelons. It is the big, dark purple vegetable found stacked up at almost every grocery store in the United States. The skin is shiny and deep purple, almost like it was polished, and the flesh inside is creamy white with small soft seeds throughout. It grows best in warm weather and needs a lot of sunshine to reach its full size. Farmers in the U.S. grow most of these in New Jersey, California, and Florida. The globe eggplant is very mild in flavor on its own, but it soaks up oil and seasoning like a sponge which makes it perfect for grilling, frying, or baking. Italian eggplant. The English word eggplant actually came from this variety, or at least an older version of it. Early European growers came across a small white or yellow type that hung from the plant and looked exactly like eggs dangling from a vine, and the name stuck forever. This one looks almost like the globe eggplant, but is noticeably smaller and has a slightly sweeter, more tender flavor. The skin is the same deep purple, but the fruit is more narrow and less bulky. Because it is smaller, it cooks faster and has fewer large seeds, which means less bitterness. Italian cooks have used this variety for hundreds of years in dishes like eggplant parmesan and caponata. If you want to keep learning about everyday things in a simple and clear way, hitting subscribe only takes a second and helps us make more videos like this one. It's free and you can always change your mind later. Japanese eggplant. In ancient Japan, eggplant was considered so valuable and luxurious that it was reportedly one of the first foods offered to the emperor in the new year, and dreaming about eggplant was believed to be one of the luckiest omens a person could receive. This variety is long and slender, usually about the size of a large banana, with rich purple skin that is very thin. Thin enough that you do not need to peel it before cooking. The flesh inside is less dense than the globe eggplant, and it has a delicate, almost sweet flavor that cooks very quickly because of how light it is. Today it is used in stir-fries, miso soup, and grilled dishes across East Asia. Chinese eggplant. China grows more than half of the entire world's eggplant supply every single year, making it by far the most dominant eggplant-producing nation on the planet. This variety is lighter in color than the Japanese type, often lavender or pale purple, and it is also slightly longer and thicker. The flavor is very mild, and the texture becomes beautifully soft when cooked. In Chinese cooking, it is often braised or stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Eggplant has been part of Chinese cuisine for over 2,000 years, which makes it one of the oldest continuously cultivated vegetables in that entire region of world. Thai eggplant. Most people are genuinely shocked the first time they see this variety because it looks absolutely nothing like an eggplant. It is small, round, and about the size of a golf ball, and it comes in shades of green, white, yellow, and even striped patterns that look almost painted on. The flavor is bitter and firm, and it holds its shape well when dropped into hot liquid. It is a core ingredient in many Thai curries, especially green curry, where its bitterness does something clever. It cuts through the richness of the coconut milk and balances the whole dish. Some people even eat it completely raw as a crunchy snack with dipping sauces, which would seem very unusual to most Western cooks. Indian eggplant. India is considered the original birthplace of the eggplant, and scientists believe this plant was first cultivated there over 4,000 years ago, long before almost any other civilization had ever seen or tasted it. Also called brinjal across South Asia, this small, round, or oval variety comes in deep purple, green, and white. One of the most beloved Indian eggplant dishes is Bangan Bharta, where a whole eggplant is placed directly over an open flame and charred, until the inside turns smoky and completely soft. That smoky flavor is the entire soul of the dish and cannot be created any other way. The country grows hundreds of distinct varieties, more than almost any other nation on earth. White eggplant. This variety is the reason the entire eggplant family has its name. European travelers who first encountered it saw small, pale, oval fruits hanging from green stems and immediately thought they looked like white eggs growing on a plant, which led to the word eggplant being used for every variety that came after, even the ones that looked nothing like eggs at all. The skin is white or pale cream, and the flesh inside is a brighter white than most eggplants. The flavor is noticeably milder and slightly sweeter than the dark purple types, with much less of the natural bitterness that some people find off-putting about eggplant in general. Graffiti eggplant. This variety has streaks of purple and white running across the skin that look so deliberately placed, so perfectly patterned, that people who see it for the first time often assume it has been artificially dyed or decorated in some way. Every single marking is completely natural. It originally comes from Spain and has been grown in the Mediterranean region for centuries under names like zebra or listada de gandia. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet with thin, tender skin. The dramatic pattern fades when cooked, but chefs who care deeply about how their food looks often use it raw in salads or displays, because even sitting still on a cutting board, it looks like a work of art. Rosa bianca eggplant. Food historians and botanists consider this Italian heirloom one of the most beautiful vegetables in existence, with soft lavender and white skin that fades together like a watercolor painting, and a flavor so creamy and mild that many people who claim to dislike eggplant find themselves genuinely enjoying it for the first time. Heirloom means the seeds have been saved and passed down through generations, without being altered by scientists or crossbred with other varieties. The flesh is dense and meaty with almost no bitterness at all. It has been grown in Italy for so long that no one can trace exactly when it first appeared, though food historians believe it dates back several centuries at minimum. Turkish eggplant. Turkey has more recipes built around eggplant than almost any other country in the world, with some food writers estimating there are over a thousand distinct Turkish eggplant dishes. One of the most famous ones is called imam beyildi, which literally translates to the imam fainted, based on a legend that a religious leader passed out from sheer joy after tasting it. This long, slender variety is firm enough to be hollowed out and stuffed, which is exactly why it appears in so many traditional recipes across Turkey and the broader Middle Eastern region. The fruit holds its shape under heat and absorbs the flavors of whatever surrounds it, making it one of the most versatile eggplants in the world. Fairytale eggplant. This tiny eggplant was deliberately engineered by plant breeders to be small enough to grow in a flowerpot on an apartment balcony, which makes it one of the few vegetables in history that was specifically designed for people who have almost no outdoor space at all. Each fruit is only a few inches long and fits easily in the palm of a hand. The skin is pale purple with white streaks, and the flavor is very sweet and tender, with almost none of the bitterness found in larger varieties. Because of its size, it cooks in just a few minutes, which makes it a favorite for quick sauteing or roasting when dinner needs to come fast. Sicilian eggplant. Sicily was once described by Arab travelers in the Middle Ages as a land so full of eggplants that the vegetable grew wild along the roads, and it was those Arab visitors who introduced eggplant to the island in the first place, permanently changing the way Sicilians cooked and ate. This round, ribbed variety is large and squat with deep ridges running from top to bottom and a rich violet-purple color. Sicilian cooks have used it for centuries in Caponata, a sweet and sour dish made with eggplant, tomatoes, celery, olives, and capers that is served at room temperature. The recipe reflects the island's layered history, blending Arab, Greek, and Spanish influences into something entirely its own. Kermit eggplant. Despite sharing a name and a green color with a famous fictional frog, this eggplant gets its color from the same pigment found in grass and tree leaves, chlorophyll, and unlike purple eggplants, it holds that green color remarkably well even after being exposed to heat. It is small, round, and striped green and white, originating in Thailand where it is still widely grown today. The flavor is mild with a slight bitterness, and the firm texture holds up exceptionally well in curries and soups. Most eggplants lose their color dramatically during cooking, but the chlorophyll in this variety is more stable, which means it stays recognizably green in the pot rather than turning dull or brown. Pingtung eggplant. This variety, named after a city in southern Taiwan, can grow to over 18 inches in a single fruit, making it one of the longest eggplants on the planet. Long enough that a single one could stretch from your fingertips to nearly your elbow. Despite its dramatic size, the flavor is surprisingly mild, sweet, and tender rather than tough or overwhelming. The color is a vivid, electric purple that stays brighter than almost any other variety even after harvesting. It is very popular across Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and food markets in Taiwanese cities often display them hanging in long bunches that look almost decorative. Farmers value it because the plant produces fruit heavily and keeps producing throughout a long growing season. Louisiana long green eggplant. This pale green eggplant has roots so deeply tied to Louisiana that food historians consider it part of the cultural heritage of the grown by Cajun and Creole farmers in the fertile land south of New Orleans for so many generations that the original seeds became nearly impossible to find outside of the region. The fruit is long, slightly curved, and very soft when cooked. It appears in traditional Louisiana dishes like eggplant dressing, which mixes the cooked flesh with ground meat, onions, and spices into something that feels like a completely different food altogether. Louisiana's hot, humid climate turned out to be almost perfect for growing this variety, and local farmers kept the seed lines alive through decades when commercial agriculture had largely moved on to other types. Apple green eggplant. This variety lacks a pigment called anthocyanin entirely. It is the same compound responsible for the purple color in blueberries, red cabbage, and most eggplants, and because of that absence, it is naturally far less bitter than almost every other eggplant variety in the world. The skin is pale green, almost white, and shaped like a slightly elongated apple or teardrop. Many people who see it at a market assume it is simply an unripe eggplant, and pass it by without realizing it is fully mature. The flesh inside is white, mild, and very tender. For anyone who has tried eggplant before and been put off by the bitterness, this is often the variety that changes their mind entirely. Little finger eggplant. This variety grows its fruit in tight clusters that bunch together on the plant like a handful of small, dark fingers. And a single healthy plant can produce so many clusters at once that gardeners sometimes joke the plant is trying to take over the entire garden. Each individual fruit is only a few inches long, thin, dark purple, and sweet with very tender skin that needs no preparation before eating. It originally comes from Asia and has been grown there for a long time, but in recent decades it became especially popular in North America among home gardeners who wanted something that looked beautiful growing in a raised bed and could also be eaten the same evening it was picked.