Found Eggplant Poem Take Two

[pantryslut]

I think I might like the short version better:

Let's get one thing straight:
most eggplants are not bitter
(even though they have every right to be
after everything that has been said about them.)
At least they are no more bitter than
a green bell pepper or the tannic skin of a fresh walnut.
They have a whisper of bitterness that
adds to the taste rather than ruining it. In fact,
it's that subtle edge that makes eggplant
such a great companion.

Comments

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

I love the first four lines on their own.

[jean-roberta.livejournal.com]

Yes! I've dreamt about eggplants.

[savia.livejournal.com]

Every time I cook eggplant, it turns out bitter, bitter, bitter. Inedibly bitter. Even when I salt it and cook it thoroughly (maybe I'm not salting it enough?). Much, much more bitter than, say, a green bell pepper or a walnut. So I just don't cook it. Every once in a great while, though, I'll use very small Indian eggplants and roast the hell out of them, along with onions, garlic, and tomatoes, and will mash it all together with a bit of mustard oil to make an Assamese dish that is quite tasty. But i don't get much flesh from the little eggplants, and so it ends up being a pretty expensive proposition (and the big eggplants are too bitter to use).

It's also the texture I don't like - the mouth feel is a bit mushy and slimy, especially in large chunks. Just very unpleasant to me.

That being said, when cut into small pieces and mixed amongst other vegetables like summer squash and so forth, or when mashed with other vegetables, I find it can be quite lovely.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

The quote is from Russ Parsons. He says that salting doesn't make a difference and you should only bother if you're frying the eggplant.

I've never eaten a bitter eggplant. Frankly, I find it a little bland. I suspect this might be an individual taste thing, though, as I apparently have a relatively high threshold for bitterness. Maybe Parsons does, too.