Glossary of food terms: A
Aubergine
Aubergines are an essential Mediterranean vegetable, featuring in classic dishes such as ratatouille, moussaka and imam bayildi (stuffed aubergines). They’re also an important ingredient in many Indian vegetable-based dishes and are the basis of the Arabic mezze dish baba ganoush.
Use them in vegetable curries and summer vegetable stews or just sliced and fried or grilled. With the skin left on they hold their shape quite well, but remove the skin and the flesh can be cooked down to a thick pulp. Also known as eggplant, after the egg-shaped, white-skinned variety, aubergines should be firm and heavy with a taut, shiny skin and a bright green calyx, or stalk end.
As well as the deep purple variety, there are white, mauve, green and striped varieties, although the purple and white are most widely available. Home-grown aubergines are available from April to October in the UK.
They store well in the fridge or cool larder for about four to six days. In the past, many recipes recommended salting aubergines to reduce their bitter flavour. This isn't really necessary now, although salting does make them absorb less oil when they’re fried. To prepare, wash the skin and trim off the stalk. Slice or cut the flesh into chunks just before cooking because it discolours quickly.
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