Eggplant is a delicious product with unique properties. Small tricks in cooking and freezing will maximize the benefit. All varieties are suitable for eating, but the most popular is the darkest eggplant.
Pick your recipe
Botanical Secret
Amazing purple alien from India represents the glorious Solanaceae family. By "relatives" he accounts for tomatoes and potatoes. From the point of view of science, the fruit of an eggplant is correctly called a berry. Breeders bred varieties with white, striped and green peels. The beneficial substances contained in it are identical to substances from dark berries.
Eggplant for a healthy lifestyle
This product is extremely important as part of proper nutrition. As part of the berry, vitamins of group B, necessary for the nervous system, provitamin A, C, E. Due to the content of vitamin PP, eggplant helps to relieve smoking cessation. Eggplant contains potassium, calcium, magnesium, necessary for the cardiovascular system. A unique opportunity to lower the level of bad cholesterol is due to eggplant chlorogenic acid. The peel contains a substance important for hematopoiesis. Due to the abundance of soluble fiber and pectin, the work of the gastrointestinal tract is normalized. Folic acid improves brain activity and is necessary in the diet of pregnant women. Calorie content per 100 g is about 28 kcal, but raw eggplant is inedible. The alkaloid solanine contained in fruits, especially overripe ones, is bitter. In large quantities, it can even cause poisoning. Raw eggplant is inedible. The heat treatment makes the eggplants deliciously tasty.
The secret of cooking
Habitual frying increases calorie content (up to 150 kcal per 100 g) and reduces the content of nutrients. In order for the eggplants to absorb less oil, it is recommended to prepare them before frying. Wash, chop as required by prescription. Put in a deep enameled bowl, salt at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 1 kg of fruit and leave for 30 minutes. After that, squeeze the eggplant from the allocated juice and proceed to frying. This technique halves oil consumption. Calorie content is about 100 kcal per 100 g. The best way to cook a low-calorie eggplant dish is to bake without oil on the grill or in the oven. Then knead the pulp with a fork, add spices, lemon juice and olive oil. Healthy tasty dish is ready.
Proper freezing
Eggplant is a seasonal product available in late summer or early fall. But they are not hard to freeze for the winter, having saved up to 70-80% of nutrients. Preservation reduces the amount of vitamins up to 40%. The eggplants frozen in raw form after preparation are very bitter and have a “rubber” texture. Blanching gives the product extra wateriness. It is ideal to freeze eggplant previously baked in the oven or in a non-stick pan. In pure berries, remove the stem. Cut in half lengthwise, lay the peel down on the baking sheet and send it to the oven for 15 minutes at a temperature of 180 ° C. Cool. Then put the halves in bags (containers) and place in the freezer. To prepare the dish, unfreeze the workpiece in the microwave.