Try a Little Bitterness

Saucy – Some cookbooks tell me to salt eggplant to help extract bitter compounds, other instructions tell me to just cook the damn thing in an oven, but if I bake it without first salting, wouldn’t cooking just condense the bitter flavors? – Auberjean

Eggplant has a reputation for being bitter that just isn’t true. Maybe its repute stems from the fact is a member of the deadly nightshade family of plants. There is more nicotine in an eggplant than any other fruit/veg but overall, still it isn't like smoking a cigarette. While older aubergines can be more bitter than the younger models, they are nothing compared to bitter eggplants that are grown in Asia (China and India grow nearly to 90% of the world’s eggplants). Produce grown in the US is not prized for its bitterness – shelf-life, holding up to transportation and sweetness are primary considerations for choosing cultivars. Maybe at one point, not even that far in the distant past, 20-30 years ago, salting in order to extract bitter compounds might have been a concern, but in the new millennium this isn’t a factor. Since many of those books are still in print, there is some confusion to why you want to salt an eggplant before cooking.

The eggplant is essentially a land sponge…thousands upon thousands air pockets are interspersed with in the eggplant’s flesh. As the aubergine is cooked for an extended period the air pockets disappear and the water trapped in the plant’s cells evaporate, leaving a smooth, pâté like texture: a great thing for dishes that are prized for their melt in the mouth feel like baba ghanoush, moussaka and/or imam bayildi.

But not so great if you desire a meatier or al dente texture, like if you were grilling or otherwise cooking slices of eggplant over dry heat - you might want to extract moisture before throwing it over the heat - as the liquid from the eggplant vaporizes, you will be left with hallow shell of your former veg. Salting becomes even more important when an eggplant is fried. When frying or deep-frying the moisture from the eggplant will bubble its way to the surface and steam away. The cell walls of the veg, formerly held in place by liquid will absorb oil to replace the newly departed water, producing not only oily food but an expensive product to boot, as the eggplant’s capacity to drink cups of olive oil is astounding.

It is far better to collapse the cell walls by extracting moisture before grilling or frying. This can be done by slicing the eggplant and salting, preferably with Kosher Salt - let the slices sit for about 30 minutes on a cooling rack or colander (so the moisture has someplace to go). When you return to the veg you will notice a brown liquid on the surface of the slices, while not particularly bitter, your aubergine will cook better without it– rinse the salt and liquid off, pat the slices dry with a paper towel.