Is it an Egg? Or a Plant?

Definitely, an eggplant is a plant. That answer I got right.

Now, is it a vegetable or a fruit? Vegetable!  Or is it? 

For the longest time, I have been telling those who care to listen that one of my favorite vegetables is the eggplant. That encouraged our househelp to plant one in our garden. A few months later, here it is! 

It’s purple and long, the way I thought all eggplants looked like. (My interest in the kitchen is not the issue here.) However it’s cooked—sautéed, fried, baked, boiled, roasted, broiled, singed—I’d gobble up whatever is served on the table. 

Now that I have my own eggplant plant, I took extra interest in it and researched (there is extra time for all kinds of research while Covid-19 remains untamed) on it. 

This shocked me: 

“Way back in the 1700s, early European versions of eggplant were smaller and yellow or white. They looked like goose or chicken eggs, which led to the name ‘eggplant.’  

“The eggplant has been around for a long, long time. It’s native to India and Southeast Asia. In fact, the first known written mention of eggplant comes from a Chinese book on agriculture written in 544.”

This shocked me even more:

Eggplant is not a vegetable. It is a fruit! And it comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors.

This shocked me most:  

Not a soul ever corrected me when I gushed over it, “Oh, I so love this vegetable!” Meaning, nobody  among my family, friends, and acquaintances knows that basic fact either. Or perhaps no one loves it as much as I do and he/she does not care what it really is. 

No matter. This vegetable, which is not a vegetable, and this eggplant, which is not an egg, remains one of my favorite . . . whatever.  

Anything edible that romances one’s tongue is gastronomical grace. 

ooo

Photo credit: My eggplant header was grabbed, with gratitude, from the FB page of Carla, a friend and faith sister, who has joined the ranks of plantitas during this pandemic.