The baobab tree, with its bulbous shape and a canopy that resembles an upside-down root system, is an iconic symbol of the African continent. But today we will talk about other plant - Garden Egg.
Garden Egg eggplants are native to sub-Saharan Africa and have been cultivated since ancient times. It’s a fruit that is cooked as a vegetable, and it is one of the most economically important crops in Africa, along with peppers and tomatoes.
Garden Egg Eggplant
What is Garden Egg Eggplant?
Garden Egg eggplants are small to medium in size, averaging 6-8 centimeters in length, and are teardrop to slightly oblong in shape. The smooth skin is taut, glossy, and green when young, transforming to white and yellow when mature. Underneath the surface of the thin skin, the flesh is tender, aqueous, spongy, pale yellow to white, and encases many small, flat seeds. Garden Egg eggplants are botanically a member of the Solanaceae family and grow on sprawling, climbing vines.
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Considered a fruit, but cooked as a vegetable, there has been some debate on the classification of Garden Egg eggplants, with some experts believing it belongs to Solanum aethiopicum while other experts believe it belongs to Solanum gilo.
Among Africa’s overall eggplant diversity it is possible to find fruits in white, cream, yellow, green, lime, orange, pink, red, plum, burgundy, lavender, violet, purple, or dusky black. Many come striped and multi-colored. And all possess a glossy skin that tends to shimmer in the sunlight. Beyond being egg-shaped, they can be also round, flat, ribbed, and pumpkin-like. Some get to be as imposing as beefy tomatoes; in general, though, they closely emulate chicken or duck eggs in size.
Nutritional and Ornamental Uses
These fruits are far from nutritional powerhouses-they contain 92 percent water, after all. Nonetheless, they also contain small amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals, and starch. They are moderate sources of beta-carotene, B vitamins, and C. By the standards of the modern Western world, this veggie is a diet-doctor’s dream: low in sodium, low in calories, high in dietary fiber, and a good source of potassium. The leaves are excellent sources of vitamins A and B (particularly riboflavin), calcium, phosphorus, and iron.
Not too many vegetables can take your breath away just with their looks. But African eggplants can. The fruits come in types that can be very ornamental, gleaming in more colors than the rainbow.
A Brief History
In the late 1500s, the Garden Egg was introduced to England where it became trendy, earning the fruit it’s egg-shaped name and remained in the spotlight until the purple eggplant was introduced from Asia.
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Late in the 1500s British traders introduced London’s greengrocers to a strange new vegetable they’d picked up along the coast of West Africa. By 1587 this so-called “Guinea squash” was on English dinner tables. Although eaten as a vegetable, it was actually a small fruit about the size of a hen’s egg. It was the same color as a hen’s egg also. At roughly the same time another vegetable also appeared in Britain. This one had fruits nothing like eggs. They were much larger, deep purple in color, and irregularly misshapen. For a while both were used. Eventually, however, the Guinea squash lost its toehold, and fell out of Western cuisine. The newcomer, on the other hand, not only survived but also took over its predecessor’s felicitous name. This is how a purplish blob, looking like no egg seen since perhaps the dinosaurs, came to be misnamed “eggplant.” The interloper1 that stole an African plant’s good name hailed from Asia, where it has been cultivated more than 4,000 years.
How to cook garden egg/African eggplant - Naija Vegan
Culinary Uses and Recipes
Garden Egg eggplants can be utilized raw, similarly to fresh tomatoes, but are predominately consumed in cooked applications such as boiling, sautéing, and steaming. The fruits can be boiled and then chopped or diced into stews and soups. They are also cooked and consumed with chile paste, grilled with other vegetables, mixed into curries, cooked and mashed, pureed into juice, or sautéed and served with starchy items such as rice, yams, plantains, and couscous. In addition to the fruit, in some countries, the leaves and stems of the Garden Egg eggplant are consumed by steaming or sautéing, and the fruit can also be found in canned form.
Fruits Typically in Africa, the garden egg is chopped, cooked and mixed into a variety of vegetable, meat, or fish stews and sauces. Although bitter taste is a major characteristic, many African eggplants are sweet or bland, especially in the immature stages in which they are eaten. The unripe fruits are usually cooked in a sauce after being chopped, parboiled, ground, or otherwise prepared. Peeling is unnecessary because the skin becomes tender enough to be consumed along with the rest. Leaves Africans eat the leaves of at least certain types of the Gilo Group eggplants.
Garden Egg eggplants pair well with meats such as fish, beef, and poultry, garlic, onions, ginger, nutmeg, anise, lemongrass, scotch bonnet peppers, green beans, red bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, curry paste, and coconut milk.
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Among the Greeks’ many eggplant recipes, moussaka is the most famous. It’s basically an older version of Italian lasagna, with eggplant slices subbing for layers of flat pasta. Eggplant, roasted in an oven or barbecue grill, is the basis of Greek and Middle Eastern dips and spreads. Imam bayaldi, a mashed-eggplant dish, is named after the legendary moment in the 16th century when a religious man waited to taste a sample being served by a beautiful woman. As she bent over to present the plate, the veil slipped from her face. Caponata is an eggplant relish with a tantalizing sweet and sour flavor. It may be spread on pasta or on bread and eaten as a sandwich. Napoleons are layered foods, best known as desserts or pastries. In this case, the cook starts with a round of eggplant and tops it with slices of such things as zucchini, onions, peppers, mushrooms and dried tomatoes and cheese.
“We do like eggplant here in New Orleans,” writes a local journalist. “We chop it and saute it, batter it and fry it, mash it and season it, stuff it with meat, seafood, oregano, breadcrumbs and itself.
The Role of Garden Egg in Ghanaian Culture
In Ghana, Garden Egg eggplants are grown in small gardens and are consumed as an inexpensive and widely available meat-substitute. Sold on busy street corners, in fresh markets, and along roadsides in small stands, Garden Egg eggplants are consumed on a daily basis and are also deeply rooted in cultural traditions. Representing fertility, friendship, and respect, Garden Egg eggplants are given as gifts at social events, weddings, and gatherings.
The brightly colored fruits known as garden eggs are a significant vegetable resource almost Africawide. The crop is high yielding, easy to grow, and simple to harvest and handle. It is integral to many cuisines, cultures, and economies. Yet in many parts of Africa there is considerable scope for producing much better varieties in much better quantities.
Commercial Potential
Throughout Africa local garden eggs provide a continuing source of income for farmers. In rural districts from Senegal to Mozambique women are commonly seen hefting baskets of them on their heads to sell in nearby villages or townships. Yet these vegetables have untapped commercial promise and could become the cornerstone of localized rural economic development.
The local garden eggs are significant vegetable resources almost Africawide. They are good for nutrition, rural income, and soils. They are high yielding, easy to grow, and simple to harvest and handle. They are vital to local cuisines, local economies, and local cultures. They have untapped potential waiting to be brought out by research. In many parts of Africa there is considerable scope for producing much better varieties in much better quantity. They also have notable market potential and could become the cornerstone of localized rural economic development.
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