Eggplant

Eggplant (Aubergine, Solanum melongena)

Eggplant — “חציל” in Hebrew, aubergine in British English — is a vegetable with 25 calories per 100 grams, and yet a restaurant eggplant dish can reach 400 calories or more. This gap is not a measurement error: it is the whole story of this vegetable.

Eggplant flesh has a spongy structure in which much of the volume is air pockets. When you heat it in oil, the pockets collapse and fill up with oil — and the low-calorie vegetable turns into a serving of fat. Below is how to get around that, and also what eggplant does have besides volume.

Nutrition facts per 100 g (raw, with skin)

The honest picture: apart from fiber, eggplant is not a significant source of vitamins or minerals. Its value lies in fiber, volume, polyphenols — and its culinary versatility. It is not a superfood, and it doesn’t pretend to be one.

Oil absorption — the problem and the solutions

The cells in eggplant flesh are surrounded by air pockets, and when heated they collapse. The oil in the pan fills the space that has been emptied, and the eggplant does not “release” it later.

Four methods that work:

1. Salt and press. Sprinkle salt on the slices, wait 30 minutes and squeeze. The salt draws out water and the cells shrink — fewer pockets are left for the oil. It also shortens the frying time.
2. Collapse the pockets beforehand. Dry baking, 3-4 minutes in the microwave or an initial roasting before any contact with oil makes the pockets collapse while the pan is still dry. Then you can add oil — it has nowhere left to go.
3. Brush, don’t pour. A brush with a teaspoon of olive oil on each side — don’t pour it into the pan.
4. Char over an open flame — as in eggplant salad or zaalouk — where the eggplant is charred in its skin without a drop of oil, and the oil is added only at the end, in a controlled way.

Nasunin and the skin

Eggplant’s purple skin contains nasunin — an anthocyanin that gives it its color. It has been studied as an antioxidant and as an iron chelator, an ability that prevents free iron from catalyzing oxidative reactions. Most of the evidence is from lab and animal studies; in humans the picture is still early.

The practical conclusion is simple: don’t peel it. The skin holds both the nasunin and a considerable part of the fiber. Peeled eggplant is a lesser vegetable.

Alongside nasunin, eggplant is rich in chlorogenic acid — the same polyphenol found in coffee, and one of its main phenolic compounds.

“Nightshade sensitivity” — what is really known

Eggplant belongs to the nightshade family together with tomato, bell pepper, potato and tobacco. It contains tiny amounts of glycoalkaloids (solasonine and solamargine), not solanine as is sometimes written.

The claim that nightshades worsen arthritis or autoimmune diseases is very common online. Its research basis is weak: there are no controlled clinical studies showing a consistent benefit from avoiding nightshades in the general population. There are personal reports, and some people feel better without them — which is perfectly legitimate as personal experience, but not a blanket recommendation. Avoiding them removes a very rich group of vegetables from the menu, so it is worth doing consciously and not by default.

Benefits

• Fiber: 3 g per 100 g at 25 calories — an excellent ratio, higher than zucchini or cucumber.
• Nasunin and chlorogenic acid — as detailed above.
• Low energy density: 92% water.
• A “meaty” texture: thanks to its spongy structure, eggplant provides a sense of fullness and a texture that works well as a meat substitute in cooked dishes — imam bayildi, moussaka, mirza ghasemi.
• Exceptional culinary versatility — charred, baked, stir-fried, stuffed, blended into a spread.
• Potassium in a reasonable amount.

Downsides and considerations

• Oil absorption — as detailed above, the main and most practical downside.
• Low nutrient density. Apart from fiber and polyphenols, eggplant does not contribute impressive amounts of vitamins or minerals.
• Raw eggplant — not recommended. Glycoalkaloids are more concentrated in unripe fruit, and the texture and taste are unpleasant anyway. Cooking reduces them.
• Bitterness in mature fruit. Large eggplants with dark, developed seeds are more bitter. A young eggplant that is heavy for its size is hardly bitter at all, and salting “against bitterness” is unnecessary today in most modern varieties — it is needed mainly against oil absorption.
• Allergy and histamine. Eggplant allergy exists and is not rare in Mediterranean regions; eggplant is also considered relatively high in histamine, which is relevant for people diagnosed with histamine intolerance.
• Eggplant salad with mayonnaise. A spread that starts as a 25-calorie vegetable and reaches 250 or more per 100 g — mainly because of the mayonnaise and oil, not the eggplant.

Practical use

• Don’t peel it. The skin is where the nasunin and fiber are.
• Salt for 30 minutes and squeeze before any frying or roasting.
• Bake at 220°C (430°F) instead of frying. A teaspoon of oil per 100 g, a brush and a hot oven — the result is almost identical in taste with four to five times fewer calories than frying.
• Char over a flame for spreads — the traditional method, and a rare case where the tastiest method is also the lowest in calories.
• Choose young and firm: shiny skin, heavy for its size, a fresh green stem. An eggplant that is too light is dry inside, and soft brown spots indicate the start of rot.
• Don’t store it in a fridge that is too cold. Eggplant is sensitive to cold and is damaged below 10°C (50°F). Better in a cool spot in the kitchen, used within a few days.
• Cut it just before use — eggplant flesh oxidizes and darkens quickly. A little lemon slows this.
• Combine with protein: tahini, yogurt, lentils or cheese — eggplant alone is not a meal.

Summary

Eggplant is a vegetable with 3 g of fiber and 25 calories per 100 g, with a skin rich in nasunin and chlorogenic acid and a texture few can match. The most important thing to know about it is entirely practical: it is a sponge, and the way you prepare it determines whether the dish is 65 calories or 350. Salting, dry searing beforehand and a brush of oil instead of a full pan solve the problem. And don’t peel the skin — that is where almost everything interesting about it lies.