EGGPLANT

The eggplant , native to subtropical climates , requires climates not too cold . Its growth stops when the temperature drops below 12 ° C .

The eggplant ( Solanum melongena L. ) is a herbaceous plant , erect , 30 cm high just over one meter . Its flowers are large , solitary , purple or white . Its fruits area large berries , elongated or round , usually black , edible after cooking .

The eggplant is important to a significant slice of the Italian production : so much that 30 % of the crop is intended precisely to this vegetable.

NUTRITION FACTS

Nutritional information per 100g of edible part of uncooked eggplant

Energy(Kcal)	69
Water	80,5
Protein	0,72
Carbohydrate	18,1
Of which sugar	15,4
Fat	0,1
Cholesterol	0
Fibre	0,9
Sodium	0,002
Vitamin C	0,01
Calcium	0,01
Magnesium	0,007
Iron	0,0003

The values are expressed in g . Sources : the database of food nutrition facts USDA ( United States Department of Agriculture ) and the Database of food composition INRAN .

CURIOSITY

The eggplant , native to India , is introduced by the Arabs in the early fourth century. Because of its name , in particular , in Italy it was popularly interpreted as unhealthy apple, because it is not edible as raw. It is said that the eggplants are potentially toxic , responsible for sudden headache and fever . This belief , at first sight paradoxical , has a grain of truth : the rae eggplant , in fact , contain considerable amounts of solanine , which is toxic . The excessive intake of solanine can cause unpleasant side effects , such as drowsiness , irritation of the gastric mucosa , etc. hemolysis . The only way to avoid this problem is cooking the eggplant : with the heat treatment , the solanine this is reduced by half .

RECIPES

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