{"title":"Eggplants","description":"Eggplant variety seeds.","products":[{"product_id":"semences-aubergine-black-beauty-ancestrale","title":"Black Beauty Eggplant Heirloom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSolanum melongena.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmerica's standard eggplant for more than a century. Released by the Burpee house in 1902 — the same year as the famous Golden Bantam corn, as if by a singular stroke of horticultural luck — Black Beauty has remained to this day the reference variety of North American vegetable gardens: it's the shape, the colour, the size you visualize instantly when you say \"eggplant,\" the one you see on grocery shelves and in cooking magazines. But eggplant itself is far older — cultivated in India for more than 4,000 years, spread by the Arabs toward the Mediterranean in the 8th century (the word \"aubergine\" itself comes from the Arabic \u003cem\u003eal-bāḏinjān\u003c\/em\u003e, itself from the Persian \u003cem\u003ebādenjān\u003c\/em\u003e), and arriving late in Europe in the Middle Ages, where it was long called \u003cem\u003emala insana\u003c\/em\u003e, \"mad apple,\" out of fear of its membership in the Solanaceae family, which also includes poisonous belladonna.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOval, heavy fruits 15 to 20 cm long, weighing 700 to 900 g, with a purple-black skin of an almost varnished gleam, and white, firm flesh, lightly bitter when harvested too old but mild and velvety at full maturity. Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking has elevated it to star status: Greek \u003cem\u003emoussaka\u003c\/em\u003e in layers with ground meat and béchamel, Lebanese \u003cem\u003ebaba ganoush\u003c\/em\u003e with flesh grilled over fire, smoked and mashed with tahini, Italian \u003cem\u003eparmigiana\u003c\/em\u003e baked with mozzarella and tomato, Niçoise \u003cem\u003eratatouille\u003c\/em\u003e simmered with zucchini, tomato and pepper, Indian \u003cem\u003ebaingan bharta\u003c\/em\u003e fire-roasted with garlic, Turkish \u003cem\u003eimam bayildi\u003c\/em\u003e stuffed with confit onions until \"the imam fainted\" with pleasure, says the legend. And the most useful kitchen secret: salt the eggplant slices, let them drain 30 minutes, then rinse and pat dry before cooking — it concentrates the flavour, eliminates any residual bitterness, and greatly reduces the amount of oil absorbed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrower's tip:\u003c\/strong\u003e Eggplant is probably the most demanding member of the tomato-pepper-chili family. It wants intense heat (germination at 25-30 °C), a long season, and hates anything that resembles cold — a chill snap in early season freezes the plant for weeks. Indoor start mandatory 10 to 12 weeks before transplanting, in individual pots, in a warm spot under a grow light on a heat mat. Transplant only when nights are stable above 15 °C in Québec — that means mid-June at the earliest, never sooner. The warmest available spot (south wall, sheltered garden) is mandatory. Harvest the fruits young and glossy — if the skin starts to lose its shine, they're too old and the flesh will be fibrous and bitter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOpen-pollinated. Largely self-fertile, but some crossing possible with other eggplants nearby — isolate for seed saving.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHeight: 60 to 90 cm.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaturity: 70 to 80 days after transplant.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExposure: full sun, sheltered from wind. The warmest spot in the garden.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRich, deep, well-drained, warm soil. Space plants 50 to 60 cm apart.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndoor start 10 to 12 weeks before last frost, at 25-28 °C minimum. Transplant once all risk of frost is past and the soil is at 18 °C (mid-June in Québec).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Joual Vert","offers":[{"title":"20","offer_id":42630290800812,"sku":"GC-H-EGGBLA-20","price":0.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100","offer_id":41699734323372,"sku":"GC-H-EGGBLA-100","price":3.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500","offer_id":41699734356140,"sku":"GC-H-EGGBLA-500","price":15.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2500","offer_id":44180300071084,"sku":"GC-H-EGGBLA-2500","price":63.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0532\/1388\/8684\/products\/eggplantbb_1803e6ed-f3bf-457e-8784-716138d2cec1.jpg?v=1664221256"},{"product_id":"aubergine-rosa-bianca-ancestrale","title":"Rosa Bianca Eggplant Heirloom","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe most aristocratic Italian eggplant — an old variety from Sicily (sometimes also attributed to Tuscany), whose name evokes the colour of its fruits perfectly: \u003cem\u003erosa\u003c\/em\u003e (pink) and \u003cem\u003ebianca\u003c\/em\u003e (white), a splendid livery of pale lavender and cream white blended in irregular stripes, like a marbled seashell. Visually very different from the classic purple American Black Beauty, the Rosa Bianca represents the Italian tradition of the eggplant, handed down through generations of Mediterranean gardeners.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe eggplant itself originates in India, where it has been cultivated for at least 3,500 years — it travelled westward with Arab traders in the Middle Ages, reaching Sicily in the 9th or 10th century during the Arab emirate, and it's precisely this Arab-Mediterranean diffusion that explains why the eggplant became central to all the cuisines of southern Italy while remaining secondary in the north.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCompact, well-held plant 60 to 90 cm tall, which produces in peak season 5 to 8 beautiful round-squat fruits 12 to 15 cm across, shaped like a short spinning top, with smooth skin and spectacular lavender-white striations. Particularly mild flesh, almost without bitterness — one of the great qualities of the variety, which doesn't require the salt-draining that more pungent eggplants often need; firm and melting when cooked, with very small seeds (barely visible and barely noticeable on the palate).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbsolute queen of Sicilian and southern Italian cooking: \u003cem\u003eparmigiana di melanzane\u003c\/em\u003e (gratin of eggplant slices, tomato, mozzarella and parmesan — one of the great national dishes), \u003cem\u003ecaponata\u003c\/em\u003e (sweet-and-sour stew of eggplant, celery, capers, olives, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar — eaten at room temperature as antipasto), \u003cem\u003emelanzane sott'olio\u003c\/em\u003e (eggplants marinated in oil in jars for winter), Catania's \u003cem\u003epasta alla Norma\u003c\/em\u003e (pasta with fried eggplant, ricotta salata, tomato, basil), as Middle Eastern \u003cem\u003ebaba ganoush\u003c\/em\u003e (purée of grilled eggplant with tahini and lemon), or simply grilled in half-rounds in the oven with olive oil, garlic and Greek oregano.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGrower's tip:\u003c\/strong\u003e Like Black Beauty, Rosa Bianca demands heat and a long season. Indoor start 8 to 10 weeks before last frost, at 25-28 °C on a heat mat. Transplant once nights have stabilized above 12 °C — that's early to mid-June in Québec. Give it the warmest spot in the garden (south wall ideal). Light staking useful to support loaded plants. Harvest when the fruits are firm and shiny — the skin should bounce lightly under thumb pressure. Waiting too long loses firmness and increases internal seed production. Rosa Bianca has the great quality of being able to ripen at Québec latitudes when started early, despite its Mediterranean reputation, and gives remarkable results in a greenhouse or unheated tunnel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOpen-pollinated. Italian heirloom variety. Largely self-fertile, but crossings possible with other \u003cem\u003eSolanum melongena\u003c\/em\u003e varieties nearby.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHeight: 60 to 90 cm.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMaturity: 75 to 85 days after transplant.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eExposure: full sun, warmth.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRich, deep, well-drained, warm soil. Space plants 50 to 60 cm apart.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndoor start 8 to 10 weeks before last frost. Transplant once all risk of frost is past (early to mid-June in Québec).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Joual Vert","offers":[{"title":"20","offer_id":42018270740652,"sku":"GC-H-EGGROB-20","price":3.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100","offer_id":42018270773420,"sku":"GC-H-EGGROB-100","price":15.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500","offer_id":42018270806188,"sku":"GC-H-EGGROB-500","price":54.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2500","offer_id":44169070248108,"sku":"GC-H-EGGROB-2500","price":199.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0532\/1388\/8684\/products\/rbegg_57264c85-67b1-4018-896f-ef525bfbcde9.jpg?v=1664221258"}],"url":"https:\/\/joualvert.ca\/en\/collections\/eggplants.oembed","provider":"Joual Vert","version":"1.0","type":"link"}