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Post by daylilydude on Jan 4, 2014 22:22:38 GMT -5
Do all of the different varieties have the same taste? All I have grown are the Black Beauties and the wife hates the flavor so I was thinking of trying a different one... any suggestions?
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materman
Pro Member
Posts: 216
Zone:: 6b
Joined: April 2013
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Post by materman on Jan 4, 2014 22:47:08 GMT -5
I think Black beauties are one of the worse on flavor. I haven't grew them for years now because of its taste and production. When a kid I can remember mom soaking them in salt water trying to get the bitter taste out of them. I pretty much only grow oriental ones for eating, but do have some bigger crosses that made yummy eggplant Parmesan patties. If you want to try then, I could send you a few seeds.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jan 5, 2014 9:02:32 GMT -5
I have found that the few Asian varieties I've tried don't have that bitterness and actually have a nice flavor. I was an eggplant hater before trying them out. I've grown Ping-Tung, Applegreen and Round mauve successfully. Ping-Tung is my favorite- makes my ratatouille perfect.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jan 5, 2014 10:37:11 GMT -5
Eggplants vary greatly in flavor. The large black ones, which used to be the standard, were what gave EP a bad rap, as far as getting a bitter flavor, and got all the old recipes calling for salting it. The Asian varieties are definitely better, IMO, though some are almost flavorless, much like the white varieties I tried many years ago. Most of the Asians won't get bitter, unless left on the plant for a very long time, and even when the seeds are well formed in most of them (a recipe for disaster with the old, large varieties!) the flavor is still good. Then there are the round Thai eggplants, which are sort of hollowed out, with a bunch of seeds, and can be eaten raw. The Turkish, or middle eastern varieties are a different species, and I'm not fond of them, though some people love them. They have none of the flavor of other eggplants, though they do produce incredibly well. And another species, which I will be growing this year, is the Thai pea eggplant. This grows into a tree, with thorns, and the fruits are only about 3/8-1/2" in diameter! They have to be picked quickly, as they will turn a little bitter, which is why it is often named the Thai "bitter eggplant". One Asian variety, which I grew for years, and it disappeared from the markets, then came back, is Ichiban. It is black, and has some of the best flavor of the Asians, though it will develop some bitterness if picked too late, though not nearly as bad as the large black ones. And the eggplant I have grown for the last couple of years that did better than any other is the Indian Hari. These produced more than all the rest of my plants combined, on huge plants - almost 6 feet tall. First to produce, and last to stop, as well.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 5, 2014 12:20:59 GMT -5
What Pepperhead said. I would love to find a big stuffing eggplant that does not get bitter, but no luck so far yet. I love Ichiban. In my experience it tolerates cool spring nights better than the other eggplants I have grown - it won't take any frost of course, but occasional cool nights (upper 30s/low 40s) won't make it sulk as long as the days are generally warm. (Many eggplants would not grow much or at all under those conditions; they don't like nights below 50). So you can set it out a little earlier in the spring. It will also produce later in the fall. Bonnie Plants often has Ichiban plants for sale in the spring. Seeds can be bought on Ebay from Pace seeds. I am also trying Hari this year since Pepperhead talked it up so much and was kind enough to share seed with me. If it produces as much as he says, between Hari and Ichiban I may be sneaking bags of eggplant onto the neighbors' porches at night. In Florida sauna conditions, eggplants get many of the same foliage diseases as tomatoes, just not as bad and not as early. Generally the plants look a bit ratty in July and August, I trim off the diseased leaves, and they perk back up in September. But last year when it rained almost every single day in July and August I actually lost my Ichiban - that was the first time I can recall ever losing an Ichiban to disease. I mentioned this mostly to say that one eggplant survived the disease hell last summer: Neon. My plant is still hanging on with a few green leaves on it after several light frosts. (It won't survive the low 20s we are expecting tomorrow night, though.) Flavor is good, but you do need to pick it fairly promptly. It makes very pretty pink eggplants.
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desertrat
Pro Member
Posts: 143
Joined: October 2011
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Post by desertrat on Feb 4, 2014 10:51:05 GMT -5
I grew up eating my mom's black beauty eggplant and never like it then grew one side by side with Ichiban several years ago and much preferred the taste of Ichiban and it produced earlier and was much more productive than black beauty so I won't grow that one again. When I couldn't get Ichiban I tried Ping Tung and they have proven a winner here in the desert for taste and production. I have 2 in a growbox planted last spring and have harvested them steadily since last summer. The older leaves are just now looking sad but they have a lot of new growth and still blooming so I'm very pleased with how they're doing. Thanks to a generous gardener I'm also trying the Thai Pea eggplant this year and looking forward to that and will eventually get around to trying Hari. I'm thinking about giving up on summer squash with all the bug problems I have with them and just sticking to eggplant as the only pest I've had issues with is hornworm and I can deal with them easier than squash bugs.
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