Eggplant

Eggplant has been known for centuries. It originally grew wild in East India, but around 1, 500 years ago it began to be cultivated in China and elsewhere in Central Asia as a cultivated plant. Later, the Arabs brought eggplant to Africa and further to the European Mediterranean.

In Russia, eggplant appeared in the 17th and 18th centuries. At first, our compatriots were quite wary of eggplant, they gave it various names, such as "demyanki, " "badarzhany, " "baglugans, " "Pakistanis, " "lizhans" and "blue, " according to the color of the fruits.

However, it is not entirely correct to call eggplants blue, since their color can vary significantly. It depends primarily on the variety and degree of maturity and can be milky white, light purple, dark purple (the most familiar option), and overripe fruits have a gray-green and brownish-yellow color.

Some nuances are related to the preparation of this vegetable. Compliance with all norms will preserve the benefit of eggplant. Most recipes advise soaking eggplant with salt or boiling in boiling water before cooking. This supposedly helps to remove bitterness, but there is another reason for these manipulations: when roasting, eggplant absorbs a lot of oil, and the above actions help to reduce the amount of oil "consumed" by vegetables, and therefore preserve the beneficial properties of eggplant.

There are countless recipes that eggplant can be fried, baked, boiled, simmered, grilled, used to make salads and caviar.

Eggplant benefits

The huge popularity of eggplant is quite justified. Their consumption can reduce cholesterol levels, eggplant contains a large amount of potassium, which helps to normalize water metabolism in the body and improve heart function.

In addition to potassium, eggplant includes calcium, magnesium, sodium and phosphorus, as well as vitamins C, B, B2, PP, carotene. Violet fruits contain a lot of iron, copper, cobalt and manganese, and these minerals help improve hematopoiesis and blood composition, and thereby have a favorable effect on the functioning of the spleen and on the bone marrow. Therefore, eggplants are indispensable for people with anemia, because they help the active neoplasm of red blood cells and bring hemoglobin to normal.

Low calorie content of eggplant (only about 24 kcal. 100 gr. ) Allows you to recommend them to people who suffer from overweight and obesity, because eggplant perfectly saturates the body and at the same time improves the functioning of the intestines. In addition, eggplant is an excellent diuretic, so it is appropriate to use it for chronic kidney disease. Eggplant is simply necessary for those who monitor themselves and their well-being as an unusually tasty and nutritious vegetable. At the same time, the health benefits of eggplant are almost priceless.

Eggplant harm

Eggplant damage and negative consequences can be provoked by non-compliance with cooking standards. Do not eat overripe eggplants, since they contain a large amount of the substance solanine. Its excess can cause poisonings, manifested by hallucinations and violent behavior. In addition, eggplant is one of the few vegetables that absolutely cannot be consumed raw. Perhaps these are all the "contraindications" that eggplant has.