This page is intended to introduce you to the very versatile vegetable: the aubergine.
You can find out about the varieties of aubergine, how to select and buy them, and finally, different ways of cooking them.
The aubergine is also known in America as the eggplant. It is widely used as a vegetable throughout the Mediterranean and Asia.
It comes in many shapes and sizes. The most common one in English supermarkets is round and plump with a deep burgundy shiny skin.
However, aubergines can be quite small and their shape varies from thin and long to almost an oval shape. The skin colour can range from white, through lilacs and purples, to the deep aubergine colour that we most commonly associate with the vegetable. The variegated versions can be streaked in two contrasting colours.
There is little difference in flavour between these varieties, and the flesh should always be an untainted white.
When buying an aubergine, its skin should look shiny and unblemished. The flesh should be firm to the touch. Avoid any vegetables with bruising or marks on the skin. In particular, look around the the stem to see if there are any signs of discolouring or withering.
Take particular care when picking up an aubergine because its stem might be prickly. The prickles are harmless, but they might give you a scratch or pierce your skin.