The aubergine harvest season begins in summer and lasts until autumn. You can find out from us how to harvest the eggplant, how to store it properly and how to preserve it.
Growing eggplants (Solanum melongena) in your own garden is becoming increasingly popular. The warmth-loving nightshade plant (Solanaceae) can produce numerous, brightly colored fruits in the right location and with good care. For hobby gardeners, however, it is difficult to estimate the right time to harvest. We explain when aubergines are ready to harvest, how to harvest aubergines correctly and how best to store them.
Harvest aubergines: When are aubergines ripe?
Aubergines are a rather slow-growing vegetable. While rearing begins early in the year - from January - harvest can take place from late summer to the first night frosts. Thanks to the early-ripening aubergine varieties and the warmer temperatures, you can get your own harvest in the greenhouse as early as July. In the field, the harvest time for aubergines is from August to autumn. Aubergines should not be picked, but harvested with a sharp knife or pruning shears with the stem. This prevents damage to the plant and the fruits can be stored longer. It is important to first recognize whether the aubergines are still immature or ready for harvest.
The aubergine, like the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and potato (Solanum tuberosum), belongs to the nightshade family, which contains the poisonous alkaloid produce solanine. Solanine is found in unripe fruits and in the leaves of the eggplant. As the fruit ripens, the solanine and bitter substances are broken down. To recognize eggplants that are ready to harvest, note the following clues.
You can tell ripe eggplants by this:
- Coloured skin typical of the variety.
- Gives slightly to finger pressure, interior feels soft and slightly spongy.
- Cream colored flesh with no green areas and no bitter taste.
- Slightly brownish-green colored seeds.
In addition to unripe aubergines, fruit can quickly become overripe. This is usually recognizable by the dull skin of the aubergine or a color change from white to yellow in white aubergine varieties or from yellowish to deep orange-red in African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum). These fruits may still be harvested and eaten. Alternatively, you can use them to get aubergine seeds for your own use.
Tip: In Asia and Africa, aubergines with their bitter taste are particularly popular as a cooking ingredient for dishes such as stews and curries. Even with ripe aubergines, the bitter substances are retained in these varieties. A bitter aubergine from an Asian store is therefore not classified as poisonous.
Storing and preserving aubergines
Aubergines can only be stored for a short time because they lose moisture quickly and the tissue is sensitive to pressure. The optimal storage temperature is 8 to 12 °C, then the fruits will keep for a maximum of 2 weeks. If aubergines are accidentally harvested when they are unripe, they should in any case ripen for a few days so that the substance solanine is broken down before they are stored in a cooler place.
Tip: If aubergines are stored together with apples or tomatoes, they will ripen faster, but will also spoil more quickly. These types of fruit produce the ripening gas ethene, which quickly leads to overripeness in aubergines, among other things. It is therefore best to store overripe aubergines somewhere else - for unripe specimens, however, the faster after-ripening can be an advantage.
Store eggplants in the refrigerator
Aubergines are very sensitive to cold and need high humidity. To store an aubergine in the refrigerator, the temperature should not fall below 8 °C. If you wrap the fruit in cling film, evaporation is reduced and the fruit stays fresh longer. If the temperature is too low, dark, sunken spots and other cold damage must be expected.
Freezing eggplants
If you want to keep excess aubergines fresh, you can freeze the vegetables. Raw specimens that are not overripe are best suited for this. Eggplants that have already been cooked can also be frozen. We show how best to freeze eggplantworks.
How to Freeze Eggplant:
- First the aubergine is washed, peeled and cut into 8 mm thick slices.
- Boil the water in the saucepan and add a little lemon juice. This prevents the natural browning.
- Blanch the slices in hot water for a few minutes and let them dry briefly.
- The eggplant is placed in freezer bags or cans and placed in the freezer.
In this way, aubergine stays fresh for several months and can be prepared when needed.
Preserving aubergines
Excess aubergines can be preserved well and processed into delicious spreads, antipasti or pesto.
Put the aubergines
Pickling is a popular way to extend shelf life while making delicious antipasti. In addition to an aubergine, only the following ingredients are required for pickling according to individual taste: water, vinegar, garlic, s alt, olive oil and spices. Proceed as follows: Cut the aubergine into slices a few centimeters thick and cook them for a few minutes in half a liter of water and 100 ml of vinegar. Then scoop and dab the aubergine slices. To soak, you need a mason jar that has previously been boiled for a few minutes to sterilize. The eggplant slices are now layered in the glass together with the garlic, spices and s alt and covered with olive oil. The pickled aubergines with Italian flair are ready. Processed in this way, the aubergines will keep in a cool, dark place for several weeks.
Canning eggplants
Canning is typically a method of preserving vegetables for a very long time. The vegetables are boiled with various ingredients in the closed state. However, the method is rather unusual for aubergines, as the aromatic fruits quickly become soft. Basically, it makes more sense to soak them in oil. The aroma can unfold even better this way.
By cultivating and planting early, you ensure that numerous aubergines can be harvested. You can find out what to look out for in our special article on planting aubergines.
Tip: Since aubergines are heavy feeders, they need regular fertilizer application to ensure a rich harvestbring forth. It is best to supply your aubergines with a primarily organic organic fertilizer such as our Plantura organic tomato fertilizer when you plant them. Thanks to the natural long-term effect, a second fertilization is only necessary after about 3 months.
Preparation
There are no limits to creativity when preparing aubergines. The mild, nutty taste goes well with a wide variety of dishes.
Cutting aubergines
When slicing aubergines, it all depends on the intended use. Traditionally, aubergines are sliced so that they can later be breaded, roasted, deep-fried or baked. For curries and stews, aubergines are usually simply divided into bite-sized pieces.
Do you have to peel eggplants?
Aubergines do not need to be peeled. The peel also contains various flavorings, vitamins and trace elements as well as anthocyanins, which give most fruits their dark color. In the case of aubergines that are harvested too late, however, it is worth peeling the mostly tough skin.
Can you eat aubergines raw?
Ripe aubergines can be eaten raw without hesitation. For this, however, only completely bitter-free varieties are recommended.
The aubergine is brown on the inside: what to do?
If an aubergine is brown on the inside, there can be several reasons. On the one hand, the flesh of overripe aubergines quickly turns brown around the seeds, but the fruit can be used as normal. On the other hand, it can be an infestation with bacteria or fungi, which is quickly recognized by a foul, unpleasant smell and muddy, decaying tissue. These places should be cut out generously. By the way, aubergines also turn brown quickly if you leave them lying around cut up. When exposed to air, the injured cells oxidize and take on a rusty brown color. This can easily be prevented by rubbing the eggplant with lemon juice.
Aubergine tastes bitter: What to do?
If the aubergine tastes very bitter, it is better not to eat it, unless it is a variety that does not lose its bitterness even when ripe. However, if an aubergine that is actually free of bitter substances tastes bitter, it cannot be ruled out that it contains toxic solanine. A slight bitter taste can be removed by s alting thePull out the aubergine slices along with the liquid and pat dry. The cooking process also makes bitter aubergines digestible. Any solanine contained is water-soluble and passes into the cooking water during cooking, which is then poured away.
A fruity-tasting, exotic-looking relative is the lulo (Solanum quitoense), which is very reminiscent of the aubergine in appearance. We present the heat-loving nightshade plant and its planting and care requirements.