Eggplant PDF Print E-mail

The eggplant (Solanum melongena) is an annual plant of the solarium species within the solanaceae family, whose name, according to the beliefs, comes from the Persian word bâdinjân, and later passed on to the arabic al-badhinjan.

EggplantIts cultivation is extremely ancient – more than 2000 years BC, and innumerable written documents place it in the Far East, the most ancient information known establishes it in the state of Assam, to the Northeast of India, Birmania and in China. Brought by Arabic traders it passed to the north of Africa and later, in the middle ages, it entered into Europe through Spain, from where its growth extended through the warm countries of the Mediterranean.
It is quite possible that because of ignorance as to how to properly cook the eggplant or by  using inedible species, it caused problems and received a bad reputation. During the first centuries after its entry into Europe, the belief existed that its consumption provoked many illnesses, such as fevers, epilepsy and madness, by which reason for a period of time, it was used as a decorative exotic plant and not as food. The famous Swedish botanist Carl Linneo gave it its actual scientific name Solanum melongena.

The first documentation about the eggplant written in Spanish is found in XV century book called “the Songbook of Baena “where its uses and virtues are listed.It was introduced in America by  the Spanish.
 Wherever it is produced, it is consumed in great quantities and the largest world producers are China and India. It is also produced in Japan, Spain Italy and Greece.

Numerical Values


The Andalusian eggplant production reaches almost 100,000 tons, 93% of which come from the province of Almería and the rest come from Granada.

These figures attest to the fact that Andalusia approved 76% of the Spanish eggplant production in 2006. Andalusia has settled upon the dark, long variety of eggplant, which are the varieties most in demand in international markets.

The round egg-plant, a Spanish style eggplant, has been reserved for the rest of the production zones in Spain, singling out the mediterranean seaboard coast.

Nutritional Values


It stands out, above other things, for its vitamin K content, that helps maintain the blood coagulating system. That is to say, when we cut ourselves with the edge of a knife, and the wound takes time to heal over, we have 2 options: the well known
Band-Aid or slice of eggplant and even more, the consumption of this fruit.  By the way, people with gluten intolerance have difficulty absorbing this nutrient.

Its vitamin wealth is not only centred on vitamin K, but also the vitamins in the B group.
Its mineralization is moderate. It leans on potassium, magnesium and it is low in sodium.
 
En cumplimiento de la Ley de Protección de Datos de Carácter Personal le informamos que sus datos serán incorporados a un fichero electrónico registrado en la AEPD, del que es titular la Organización Interprofesional de Frutas y Hortalizas de Andalucía (HORTYFRUTA). Podrá ejercer sus derechos de acceso, rectificación, cancelación y oposición poniéndose en contacto con el teléfono 950269161 o enviando un correo electrónico a info@hortyfruta.es.