The most aristocratic Italian eggplant — an old variety from Sicily (sometimes also attributed to Tuscany), whose name evokes the colour of its fruits perfectly: rosa (pink) and bianca (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.
The 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.
Compact, 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).
Absolute queen of Sicilian and southern Italian cooking: parmigiana di melanzane (gratin of eggplant slices, tomato, mozzarella and parmesan — one of the great national dishes), caponata (sweet-and-sour stew of eggplant, celery, capers, olives, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar — eaten at room temperature as antipasto), melanzane sott'olio (eggplants marinated in oil in jars for winter), Catania's pasta alla Norma (pasta with fried eggplant, ricotta salata, tomato, basil), as Middle Eastern baba ganoush (purée of grilled eggplant with tahini and lemon), or simply grilled in half-rounds in the oven with olive oil, garlic and Greek oregano.
Grower's tip: 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.
- Open-pollinated. Italian heirloom variety. Largely self-fertile, but crossings possible with other Solanum melongena varieties nearby.
- Height: 60 to 90 cm.
- Maturity: 75 to 85 days after transplant.
- Exposure: full sun, warmth.
- Rich, deep, well-drained, warm soil. Space plants 50 to 60 cm apart.
- Indoor start 8 to 10 weeks before last frost. Transplant once all risk of frost is past (early to mid-June in Québec).
