A biology lesson about eggplants.
Eggplant (also known as aubergine) is enjoyed by carnivores and vegetarians all over the world. It is adaptable and there is no shortage of ways it can be prepared. It will absorb the flavor of whatever it is cooked with. While it is traditionally used as a vegetable it is technically a berry by botanical classification. It is related to the tomato, so it is also a member of the nightshade family. In my research for this article, I found eggplants referred to as vegetables more often than as fruits which is what they are.
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There have been recent discussions in the media about gender identification in eggplants. It is thought by many that eggplants are either male or female. It is said that the genders are easy to identify as the males have many fewer seeds and are less bitter. Another way to see the difference between male and female eggplants is by looking at the indentation on the bottom of the eggplant. Females have long, deep dimples and males have round, shallow dimples (see photo below). In my research I came across many chefs who believe that there are male and female eggplants, and they all prefer what they consider to be male eggplants.
I hate to rain on so many parades, but according to science there are no gender differences in eggplants. Just as other “vegetables” that are technically fruits like cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, and peppers, cannot be considered male or female. The flowers of fruit plants produce their fruit. Each eggplant plant has cross-pollinating male and female flowers, in other words each flower has both male and female reproductive parts. They cross-pollinate and the fruit begins to grow.
One source I read said that the myth of male and female eggplants might have started because two types of eggplant may develop from one plant. One type has a roundish dimpled area at the blossom end while the other type has a more oval-shaped dimpled area. The latter type has more seeds and is less meaty. According to the agricultural experts at the University of Illinois Extension, the differences are a product of reproduction, not differences of gender. The dimples are the place where the eggplant fell off the plant and do not signify if it is male or female. In other words, “fruit, whether an eggplant, apple or orange is the product of the sex of the flowers, but they themselves do not have a sex”.
A quote from Mary Keith, a nutrition educator with University of Florida Extension:
“Please, don’t waste any sleep over trying to remember which one is which. There are not ‘male’ or ‘female’ eggplants. They all come from the female organs of the flower, but eggplant flowers have both male and female organs. The seeds they contain will grow into plants that make flowers with both male and female parts. The shape of the scar where the flower fell off doesn’t tell you whether the fruit is a boy or a girl.”
If you’re still not convinced, a quote from the University of Illinois Extension:
“There is long-standing controversy about male and female eggplants, which is an inaccurate approach considering the fact that fruits are the product of sex and do not have it. However, it is folk wisdom worth some attention. Eggplants have a dimple at the blossom end. The dimple can be very round or oval in shape.”
That being said, I found this from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture:
Eggplants should be selected based on the look and feel of the fruit. There should be a little bit of stem still attached to one end. The skin should be shiny and give slightly when pressed. The eggplant is over ripe if the skin is dull and soft which means the fruit will be full of seeds and taste bitter and spongy. Its peak season is August through October. A medium eggplant weighs about 1.5 pounds, serves 4 – 6, produces 3 to 4 cups when diced, and when peeled has 110 calories. Eggplants are perishable and become bitter with age. They should be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. Eggplant freezes well.
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