Does eggplant have to be fully cooked?
Eggplant is one vegetable for which slight undercooking will not work. It must be completely cooked through until it’s meltingly soft, smooth, and creamy; only then will it be flavorful on its own, as well as receptive to the other flavors with which you’ll blend it.
How do you know when an eggplant is ready?
Eggplants should be picked as soon as they are ripe, with slightly immature fruits tasting best. One of the easiest ways to determine if they are ripe is to gently squeeze the eggplant. Once you release, the skins should “bounce back”. If indentations remain, the fruit is not quite ripe yet.
Can you over cook eggplant?
In its natural state, eggplant is tough, spongy and bitter — pretty vile, all in all. Generally, vegetables (especially ones with a reputation for being vile) do not benefit from overcooking — think fetid Brussels sprouts, gray peas, floppy asparagus.
How do you cook eggplant without getting soggy?
Microwave it first. Before hitting the stovetop, give cubed and sliced eggplant pieces a spin in the microwave. Pre-cooking the eggplant (in a single layer, on a paper towel-lined plate) for about five minutes helps collapse the spongey structure, which will prevent it from absorbing quite so much oil.
Is bitter eggplant poisonous?
False, raw eggplants are not poisonous. Vegetables in the nightshade family contain anywhere from 2 to 13mg of solanine and eggplants contain 11mg at the most. So you would have to eat 36 raw eggplants to cause any harm. Therefore, there’s no need to be concerned about eating reasonable amounts of raw eggplant.
How big should eggplant be before picking?
Eggplant should be harvested when they are one-third to two-thirds full mature size. But size can be confusing. There are many eggplant varieties, and they produce fruit of many different sizes.
How do you pre cook eggplant?
Pre-Cook Eggplant in the Microwave So leave the salt where it is, and before firing up the stove, I pre-cook those slices or cubes of eggplant in the microwave first. Place them on a paper towel-lined plate and cook on high power for about five minutes.
How do you make eggplant tender?
The best eggplant is caramelized and crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth tender on the inside. This is achieved by giving the cubes or slices enough room to brown while they cook. If you overcrowd them in the pan or baking sheet, they’ll steam instead of brown and you’ll never get that caramelization.
Should I salt my eggplant before cooking?
No need to salt first. Most recipes for eggplant insist you salt it before cooking. If you’re cooking it in some other way — roasting, grilling, steaming — salting has no effect. And when you are salting eggplant for frying, it takes a lot more than just a quick sprinkle and rinse.
What does soaking eggplant in milk do?
Soak it in milk. Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.