MANILA, Philippines — In trivia games, when asked to name vegetables that are colored purple, eggplants will surely emerge as the first or second answers. This is because eggplants, despite differing in shapes and sizes, always have purple skin. Right?
Wrong.
In case you have not noticed, not all eggplants are created in the shade of purple. Some come in the shade of white. White eggplants exist and, just like purple ones, they are as normal as normal can be. They are small and round, thin and elongated, and come in regular or big shapes and sizes that eggplants are known for. The only difference is that they are white.
White eggplants can be used in the same dishes where purple eggplants are utilized, and yet they have this mild, sweet, and creamy flavor that would entice you to try them in different dishes, too.
Since they have a slightly firmer skin than purple eggplants, white eggplants are great for roasting, grilling or frying, and not much for eating raw, like in salads. They can be combined with other vegetables for salads, but they are ideally grilled first to get that perfectly smoky flavor. They also make great eggplant steaks enhanced with a soy butter glaze.
Popular culinary varieties of Solanum melongena, they are white because they lack anthocyanin pigments.
A summer vegetable, white eggplants grow best in warm weather. They originated from South Asia, and, to this day, wild plants can still be found in such places as India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Thailand, where they were cultivated before they naturally spread to other regions and countries by way of the ancient trade routes.
The name “eggplant” was given primarily to this vegetable because one of the first varieties were the small, plump, and roundish white eggplants that looked like chicken eggs hanging from the plant. From their places of origin, white eggplants reached China during the Western Jin Dynasty (265-316 CE) and then Japan in the 8th century, and later on got introduced to the Mediterranean and Spain during the Middle Ages.
In the Philippines, white eggplants of long and round varieties are grown in places like Batangas and Benguet. They are not usually found in big quantities in wet markets, but Benguet farmers always bring along a sizable amount to Metro Manila whenever they are available during weekend markets. Some farming companies and fresh vegetable traders also make them available via online shopping platforms.