Good morning,
I have 5 Eggplant Plants, just picked my first harvest from them.
Is Eggplant a 1 time pick, or do they reproduce?
What are some good ways to preserve ounces picked? Can I slice and freeze them in a Gal Bag?
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SpringWaterGrower
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applestar
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Since eggplant fruits are harvested while immature and seeds are negligible or soft, they need to be refrigerated. But kept dry-ish but with humidity, they last a while in the fridge -- a week to 2 weeks, pushing it by 3rd week.
I leave a good portion of the stem on, cutting off the fruit with a pair of pruners, then rinse three times in a bucket of water. Then dry well and put in a paper towel-lined ziplock bag. I leave the bag open. Since it's essentially a tropical fruit, it should kept in warmer part of the fridge -- top shelf or mid-upper part of the door. Summer squash and Cucumbers seem to like similar conditions in the fridge.
(Without the paper towels to absorb the condensation, the slick eggplant skin plasters to the plastic bag and they can't breathe, get soft spots, and spoil from there.)
I suppose veg drawers are designed to do the same thing, but I keep mine colder for leafy greens, etc.
Once cut open, eggplants oxidize quickly, so that's another reason not to freeze them unless you pre-treat first -- salt, drain/squeeze out the yellow/brown liquid, rinse -- then maybe? But I agree cooked eggplants freeze beautifully.
I leave a good portion of the stem on, cutting off the fruit with a pair of pruners, then rinse three times in a bucket of water. Then dry well and put in a paper towel-lined ziplock bag. I leave the bag open. Since it's essentially a tropical fruit, it should kept in warmer part of the fridge -- top shelf or mid-upper part of the door. Summer squash and Cucumbers seem to like similar conditions in the fridge.
(Without the paper towels to absorb the condensation, the slick eggplant skin plasters to the plastic bag and they can't breathe, get soft spots, and spoil from there.)
I suppose veg drawers are designed to do the same thing, but I keep mine colder for leafy greens, etc.
Once cut open, eggplants oxidize quickly, so that's another reason not to freeze them unless you pre-treat first -- salt, drain/squeeze out the yellow/brown liquid, rinse -- then maybe? But I agree cooked eggplants freeze beautifully.
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SQWIB
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- Location: Zone 7A - Philadelphia, PA
Eggplants in a casserole type dish freeze very well. Just finished up my last eggplant lasagna from last season.
During the growing season if I accumulate a good amount of eggplant. The wife will make a few eggplant lasagna casseroles, sometimes we layer noodles on the bottom, sometimes we add a layer of ground meat, sometimes its just the eggplant, cook, chill in the fridge, slice into square portions, separate portions and freeze, then vacuum seal once solid, label and toss back in the freezer. I have enjoyed eggplant all year long this way.
Going to try ground turkey in the lasagna this year.
I have also shredded the eggplant and added to burgers and this freezes well.
During the growing season if I accumulate a good amount of eggplant. The wife will make a few eggplant lasagna casseroles, sometimes we layer noodles on the bottom, sometimes we add a layer of ground meat, sometimes its just the eggplant, cook, chill in the fridge, slice into square portions, separate portions and freeze, then vacuum seal once solid, label and toss back in the freezer. I have enjoyed eggplant all year long this way.
Going to try ground turkey in the lasagna this year.
I have also shredded the eggplant and added to burgers and this freezes well.
SpringWaterGrower, I'm going to pass along my eggplant casserole recipe to you just in case you wish to try it.
Ingredients for a 9 x 13 size pan:
2 good size eggplants
1 onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
6 cloves garlic minced
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
1 lb. shrimp
1 qt. shrimp stock
Italian Bread Crumbs
Olive oil
Worchestershire Sauce
Tabasco or other hot sauce---optional
Prepare:
I use fresh shrimp, peel them and put the heads and shells in a pot, add just a bit of salt, cover with water and bring to a boil to make the shrimp stock. I'll only cook this for 30 minutes or so then strain and reserve the liquid.
I'll take the shrimp and add a bit of seafood boil seasoning to a pot of boiling water and cook them for about 3 minutes, drain and reserve for later use.
After the eggplant is cubed, put the cubes in a pan and add the shrimp stock, bring to a boil and let them simmer until tender--about 10-15 minutes or so. When done, drain and reserve a bit of the shrimp stock to add to the casserole if needed.
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As the eggplant is almost done cooking, I'll add a bit of olive oil to another pan and start to sautee' the onion and celery for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes. Next, I add the cooked eggplant, a tablespoon of Worchestershire and a few shots of hot sauce to the pan and mix this well and cook for another 5 minutes or so. While this is simmering, I'll take the shrimp and cut them in half across the body of the shrimp and add that to the pot just long enough to blend it all together, then shut off the fire and allow it to cool a bit.
I'll then put this in a large bowl and slowly add the Italian bread crumbs to the mixture, then the parmesan cheese. How much used is a matter of preference so I don't give quantity for these ingredients. If this looks a bit dry I'll add a bit of shrimp stock to moisten it to my liking---yours may vary. I never add salt or pepper to this dish as it is cooking since Italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and the seafood seasoning used to boil the shrimp is fairly salty. It is now that you taste it to see if you want to add more seasonings.
Lightly grease a baking dish, add the casserole ingredients then top the dish with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the cheese lightly browns and serve.
So, bottom line is, let those plants continue producing and enjoy the bounty.
Ingredients for a 9 x 13 size pan:
2 good size eggplants
1 onion diced
2 stalks celery diced
6 cloves garlic minced
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
1 lb. shrimp
1 qt. shrimp stock
Italian Bread Crumbs
Olive oil
Worchestershire Sauce
Tabasco or other hot sauce---optional
Prepare:
I use fresh shrimp, peel them and put the heads and shells in a pot, add just a bit of salt, cover with water and bring to a boil to make the shrimp stock. I'll only cook this for 30 minutes or so then strain and reserve the liquid.
I'll take the shrimp and add a bit of seafood boil seasoning to a pot of boiling water and cook them for about 3 minutes, drain and reserve for later use.
After the eggplant is cubed, put the cubes in a pan and add the shrimp stock, bring to a boil and let them simmer until tender--about 10-15 minutes or so. When done, drain and reserve a bit of the shrimp stock to add to the casserole if needed.
'
As the eggplant is almost done cooking, I'll add a bit of olive oil to another pan and start to sautee' the onion and celery for about 5 minutes then add the garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 more minutes. Next, I add the cooked eggplant, a tablespoon of Worchestershire and a few shots of hot sauce to the pan and mix this well and cook for another 5 minutes or so. While this is simmering, I'll take the shrimp and cut them in half across the body of the shrimp and add that to the pot just long enough to blend it all together, then shut off the fire and allow it to cool a bit.
I'll then put this in a large bowl and slowly add the Italian bread crumbs to the mixture, then the parmesan cheese. How much used is a matter of preference so I don't give quantity for these ingredients. If this looks a bit dry I'll add a bit of shrimp stock to moisten it to my liking---yours may vary. I never add salt or pepper to this dish as it is cooking since Italian bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and the seafood seasoning used to boil the shrimp is fairly salty. It is now that you taste it to see if you want to add more seasonings.
Lightly grease a baking dish, add the casserole ingredients then top the dish with mozzarella cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the cheese lightly browns and serve.
So, bottom line is, let those plants continue producing and enjoy the bounty.
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pepperhead212
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- Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b
The last couple of years I have gotten huge harvests of eggplants from SIPs, so I decided to experiment with dehydration. Even with a large freezer, there's only so much that can go in there, since there are many other things that go in there from the garden.
I cut the EPs into about 1" cubes, leaving the skins on, and dry them until totally dry, not leathery. 1 lb reduces to 1.45 oz.. I use most of this in soups and curries in the cold weather, soaking it in warm or hot water, using a ceramic weight to hold it under the water, as it is very buoyant.
I cut the EPs into about 1" cubes, leaving the skins on, and dry them until totally dry, not leathery. 1 lb reduces to 1.45 oz.. I use most of this in soups and curries in the cold weather, soaking it in warm or hot water, using a ceramic weight to hold it under the water, as it is very buoyant.