There is no clear definition for the distinction between fruits and vegetables. After classification for food, annual or single-bearing plants are vegetables. Although the Dutch eggplant is a perennial, its frost sensitivity usually ensures it only flowers once a year, making it a vegetable. According to the botanical definition, eggplants would be a fruit, as they come from pollinated flowers. However, fruit is usually eaten raw, which in turn would suggest an association with vegetables.
Because unprocessed aubergines contain the alkaloid solanine, they should only be eaten cooked, roasted or grilled. So whether one should call eggplants a fruit rather than a vegetable can be left to each individual.
Popular vegetables
Eggplant is a popular food - so popular that a man in the southern Italian city of Lecce tried to steal one of the purple-coloured eggplants from the field. He was arrested and sentenced to prison and a fine, but this sentence was revoked and he was acquitted after nine years.
In Germany it is much easier to get eggplants. Since there are only a few producers in this country that deliver their goods regionally to markets, a large part of the aubergines in German supermarkets come from neighbouring country the Netherlands. The Dutch aubergines have a much shorter journey than their colleagues, who are flown in from the Mediterranean region. Another plus is their great variety of colours and shapes, such as the pink-and-white striped Graffiti variety (also available in a smaller format) or the round variety Purpura with its aromatic and particularly firm flesh.
Sustainable cultivation conditions
The Dutch aubergines are cultivated under sustainable conditions in greenhouses, as are those in Germany. This includes fertilization of flowers by bumblebees and honey bees, biological protection of natural enemies, environmentally friendly packaging and the reuse of materials.
For more information:
Natasja Zonneveld
Aubergine8 (A8)
Telefon: +31 174 63 76 02
Postbus 666 2675 ZX Honselersdijk
Niederlande