Italian Eggplant - how do you know when it's ripe?
Long time tomato grower, first time eggplant grower. Have some Italian eggplants growing, some of which are about 8 inches long. How do I know when they're ready to eat?
When they look good 
I pick them when they are still firm, before they get too big. They don't taste as good if you let them get HUGE, so usually I took them off at around 7" or so. If you've grown squash you'll know its the same general rule - kind of a fine line between being ripe and underripe, but they should be firm without being hard. If they start to turn soft, then they are overripe already.
Hope that helps - I grew Japanese eggplant for the first time this year, and they are shaped more like curly bananas, and are not as long! Totally threw me for a loop.
I pick them when they are still firm, before they get too big. They don't taste as good if you let them get HUGE, so usually I took them off at around 7" or so. If you've grown squash you'll know its the same general rule - kind of a fine line between being ripe and underripe, but they should be firm without being hard. If they start to turn soft, then they are overripe already.
Hope that helps - I grew Japanese eggplant for the first time this year, and they are shaped more like curly bananas, and are not as long! Totally threw me for a loop.