aubergine
| aubergine | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eggplant (aubergine) with eggplant (aubergine) and blossom |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Solanum melongena | ||||||||||||
| L. |
The eggplant ( / obɐˈʒiːnə / ; Solanum melongena ) or egg plant is a subtropical plant species from Asia that belongs to the nightshade genus ( Solanum ) within the nightshade family (Solanaceae). The fruit is also eggplant called or eggplant (because of its shape) or as eggplant (from the Italian word melanzana , plural: melanzane , ultimately (with change of Anlauts) to Arabic (al) bādinǧān), respectively.
There are three main varieties of aubergine : var. Esculentum , " Nees " with round, egg-shaped fruits, var. Serpentinum , " LHBailey " with long, slender fruits and var. Depressum , " LHBailey " with particularly small fruits.
The most well-known form in Europe is Solanum melongena var. Esculentum with its club-shaped, dark purple to black appearing fruit about 20 cm long . But other shapes can also be white (egg-colored, hence the name) or white and purple. When overripe begins, discoloration of brown and yellow occurs and the shine of the fruit increasingly disappears. Since the unripe and young fruits of the black aubergine, which is about 20 cm long and which are often grown in Europe , are not suitable for raw consumption due to their bitter and solanine content , they are steamed, fried or cooked as vegetables . Other Asian forms are, however, partly also edible in their raw state. Eggplants, like other vegetables, can contain small amounts of nicotine . The amount varies, depending on the examination, between "undetectable" and 100 micrograms per kilogram of fruit. It is sometimes claimed that the eggplant has a particularly high nicotine content. This rumor is based on an old analysis that has since proven to be flawed several times.
description
Aubergines are perennial, usually annual cultivated, herbaceous , sometimes slightly woody plants with a height of 50 to 150 cm. They are almost entirely hairy with dense, purple to gray, star-shaped trichomes . Some of them are also bribed .
The stalked and more or less hairy, more rarely thorny leaves are alternate, they are egg-shaped to rounded or elliptical with a length of 10 to 20 cm and a width of 5 to 10 cm. They are irregularly lobed with rounded to pointed lobes, the base of the leaves is uneven, pointed to rounded or almost blunt to slightly heart-shaped. The trichomes on the upper side are mostly purple, those on the slightly more hairy underside of the leaves are gray.
The eggplant is andromonocial , so male and hermaphrodite flowers can be found on an individual. Also there is a Distylie before because the hermaphrodite flowers long stylus and have the functional male that produce no fruit, short. The male flowers also is ovary slightly smaller or it is missing completely. Cultivated plants often only have hermaphroditic, long-handled flowers.
The mostly single, stalked and mostly five-fold flowers with a double flower envelope are axillary and are partly nodding. The male flowers often appear in racemose inflorescences, next to the female flowers. The purple-green, hairy and partly spiny calyx is bell-shaped and 1 to 2 cm long during flowering and with five to nine irregular, ovoid calyx tips that can be up to 12 mm long. While the fruit is ripe, the calyx remains, enlarges and lies against the fruit. The purple, overgrown and externally hairy corolla is five-lobed, has a diameter of 3 to 4 cm, rarely up to 5 cm and has five to seven, rarely eight triangular lobes. The usually five to seven, rarely eight, short stamens are fused with the base of the crown, the anthers are yellow and open through pores at the tips. The Upper permanent, multi-chambered ovary is ovoid and shaggy hair. The columnar, partly hairy, unequal length stylus has a star-shaped cross-section at the base. The style is either longer than the stamens or shorter, the stigma is head-shaped and multi-part.
The fruits are many-seeded, bare berries , the size of which varies greatly between 50 by 50 and 300 by 150 mm, and the shape can also be very different, for example oblong, ovoid, round or oblong-pear-shaped. The color of the exocarp is black-purple, dark purple, yellowish or whitish. The flat seeds are more or less kidney-shaped to roundish, orange-ocher, about 2.8-3.5 mm in size and finely pitted.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24 or 48.
Composition and calorific value
It is never eaten raw, but cooked, fried or stuffed as a vegetable. After the raw fruit has been cut, the pulp is subject to rapid enzymatic browning (high phenolase activity).
| Nutritional value per 100 g aubergine: | |
|---|---|
| Calorific value | 73 kJ (17 kcal) |
| water | 92.6 g |
| protein | 1.2 g |
| carbohydrates | 2.5 g |
| - fiber | 2.8 g |
| fat | 0.2 g |
| Vitamins and minerals | |
| Vitamin A | 7 µg |
| Vitamin B 1 | 40 µg |
| Vitamin B 2 | 45 µm |
| Vitamin B 3 | 600 µg |
| Vitamin B 5 | 230 µg |
| Vitamin B 6 | 75 µg |
| Vitamin B 9 | 7 µg |
| vitamin C | 5 mg |
| Calcium | 12 mg |
| iron | 0.37 mg |
| magnesium | 13 mg |
| sodium | 4 mg |
| phosphorus | 20 mg |
| potassium | 205 mg |
| zinc | 0.14 mg |
Origin and cultivation
Eggplants likely come from Asia , where they have been grown for more than 4000 years. The authors of ancient Greece and Rome, however, do not mention them. The Saracens in Andalusia seem to have been the first to cultivate them in Europe . You probably met her in Persia . In Italy , eggplant has been used for cooking since the 15th century.
In Europe and North America mainly varieties are grown that have elongated-oval, 12 to 25 cm long and 6 to 9 cm thick fruits with dark purple skin. In India and other Asian countries, varieties are grown, the fruits of which can weigh up to 1 kg. The fruit peel can range from white to yellow and green to purple or dark purple. Some varieties have fruits with graduated colors or stripes. In China there are usually elongated, thin fruits that are reminiscent of cucumbers in shape.
Transgenic eggplant
India
Indian research institutes, in cooperation with Monsanto , the Indian seed company Mahyco and with the support of USAID, have developed transgenic aubergine varieties that are better protected from the eggplant borer, which is widespread in India, with the help of an inserted Bt gene. In 2004 extensive field trials and preliminary investigations began. In agronomic studies, significant pesticide savings and yield increases were found, and less direct pesticide loads for farmers were predicted. In 2009, the responsible Indian authority GEAC announced that there were no scientific concerns about the safety of the Bt aubergine. The Indian Ministry of the Environment raised a moratorium in February 2010 due to massive political opposition from ten states, non-governmental organizations, small farmers, and environmental and consumer associations. The opponents cite environmental and health risks as well as possible dependencies of farmers on seed producers as reasons for their position.
Philippines
In the Philippines , a Bt aubergine is in the test phase by the Ministry of Agriculture, although there are no concrete plans for commercialization. The Bt eggplant was developed by the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II, a public-private partnership based at Cornell University . The aim is to protect the plant from various pests that destroy up to 50% of the harvest in the region. According to the Asian Farmers Regional Network, farmers are asking when the seeds will be available.
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh , Bt eggplant has been planted with great success as a fruit for the local markets, so that 27,000 farmers were able to drastically reduce the use of pesticides in 2018 and made a 6-fold profit. Bt eggplant is therefore the first genetically modified food crop that is grown for commercial purposes in a developing country . The success is based, among other things, on support from the United States Authority for International Development ( USAID ), the government of Bangladesh, Cornell University and the donation of the genetic material by the Mahyco company, which worked together with Monsanto .
Word origin
There are two theories about the etymology of the French word “aubergine”. According to Littré , it is a diminutive of the outdated word alberge , also auberge , “apricot”, which ultimately goes back to the Greek Περσικόν “Persian” via Spanish albérchigo and Hispano- Arabic albéršiq , from which the German word “ peach ” is derived. Most dictionaries, however, favor a derivation from the Catalan albergínia , which is about Arabicألباذنجان / al-bāḏinǧān (often referred to as badenjan ) and via Persianبادنجان/ bādinǧān ultimately goes back to Sanskrit vatingana ; in all these languages the word denotes the eggplant.
Economical meaning
World production
In 2018 the world harvest was 54,077,209 tons. The country with the largest eggplant production in the world was China , which produced 63.1% of the world's crop. The ten largest producing countries together brought in around 95.2% of the world harvest.
The ten largest eggplant producers in 2018 were:
| Country of production | Amount in t |
|---|---|
 People's Republic of China
|
34.102.735 |
 India
|
12,826,000 |
 Egypt
|
1,409,202 |
 Turkey
|
836.284 |
 Iran
|
836.284 |
 Indonesia
|
551,552 |
 Japan
|
300,400 |
 Italy
|
298,313 |
 Philippines
|
244,838 |
 Spain
|
238.325 |
| remaining countries | 2,602,722 |
trade
The largest exporter in 2017 was Spain (144,515 t), followed by Iran (107,562 t) and Mexico (74,238 t).
Use in the kitchen
The eggplant is now used in particular in Mediterranean , Oriental and Turkish cuisine , where it has achieved great fame with some special dishes. In Turkey, for example, İmam bayıldı , a braised aubergine stuffed with tomatoes and onions, is popular . In Greece, on the other hand, aubergines are used to prepare moussaka , and there are similar dishes under similar names in other Balkan and Arab countries. In the Orient it is often served as a paste or puree ( Baba Ghanoush ) as a starter and in the western Mediterranean it is part of the ratatouille . In the Italian kitchen are in particular the "melanzane alla parmigiana" (casserole), the "Melanzane ripiene" (stuffed eggplant) and the Caponata known. It is also possible to prepare aubergines as a dessert.
Evidence of the use of the eggplant in Chinese cuisine dates back to 609. Today, elongated, white and green fruits are preferred in the south of the country, while in the northern part of the country, as in Beijing, cultivars with smaller fruits and a shorter ripening period are grown. The eggplant is one of the most important summer vegetables in China.
In many ways of preparation, the aubergine is first cut into slices and salted. The salt has an osmotic effect and draws fruit juice and bitter substances from the cut surface, which can be washed off. Then the slices are fried in hot oil. It must be carefully degreased, since eggplants absorb a lot of fat. Eggplants are also often grilled. On the one hand slices, on the other hand the whole fruit with skin can be used for this. Eggplant paste is mostly made from the soft meat in the shell of grilled eggplant. The eggplant dessert is made from the soft meat without the shell, cooked in sugar water.
After the raw aubergine has been cut, the pulp is rapidly enzymatically browned , which is due to high phenolase activity .
Eggplant (Solanum melongena var. Esculentum)
Fruit of an eggplant
Eggplant plant
Blossom of an eggplant plant
Detail of the flower
Individual evidence
- ↑ Der Duden: Melanzani , accessed March 21, 2020.
- ↑ Lawande and Chavan: Eggplant (Brinjal) in Salunke and Kadam: Handbook of Vegetable Science and Technology. Dekker 1998, ISBN 0-8247-0105-4 .
- ↑ Descriptor for Eggplant. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Rome 1988, ISBN 92-9043-131-8 .
- ↑ a b c Waldemar Ternes , Alfred Täufel, Lieselotte Tunger, Martin Zobel (ed.): Food Lexicon . 4th, comprehensively revised edition. Behr, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-89947-165-2 . Page 452
- ↑ Federal Institute for Risk Assessment: No health risk from nicotine traces in chicken eggs (PDF), p. 4, table 1, accessed November 6, 2007.
- ^ A b Shiu-ying Hu: Food Plants of China. The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong 2005, ISBN 962-201-860-2 .
- ↑ Thomas Gaskell Tutin et al .: Flora Europaea. Volume 3., Cambridge University Press, 1972, ISBN 0-521-08489-X .
- ↑ Solanum melongena at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ German Research Institute for Food Chemistry, Garching (ed.): Food table for practice . The little souci · specialist · herb. 4th edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-8047-2541-6 , p. 303 .
- ^ V. Krishna, M. Qaim: Potential impacts of Bt eggplant on economic surplus and farmers health in India. In: Agricultural Economics. 38, 2008, 167-180.
- ↑ India: For the time being no approval for genetic engineering aubergines. Transgenic, February 9, 2010. ( Memento from January 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Filipinos back GM eggplant (PDF), In: Nature Biotechnology . Vol. 29, No. 1, p. 9.
- ↑ AM Shelton et al .: Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh: The First Genetically Engineered Food Crop in a Developing Country. In: Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2019, doi: 10.1101 / cshperspect.a034678 .
- ↑ a b Crops> Eggplants (aubergines). In: Official FAO production statistics for 2018. fao.org, accessed on May 12, 2020 .
- ^ Crops> Eggplant (aubergines). In: FAO trade statistics for 2017. fao.org, accessed on May 12, 2020 .
Web links
- Solanum melongena in the Flora of China, Vol. 17.
- Solanum melongena from Electronic Flora of South Australia, accessed September 14, 2019.