gender controversy

Went on a tour with my class to the fish and vegetable market this morning. It was interesting to see the same fish at each market but some were better quality and some had better prices. We were told if we ever do purchase straight from the fish market, to get the freshest since it's local- watch the budget but stay locally fresh.

At the vegetable market, the age old controversy came up about gender - I'll just say innie's and outie's... on vegetables. We were speaking primarily about eggplants. Some say there aren't any genders because it takes both to make the flower which later turns into a fruit (eggplants are technically a fruit although it's prepared like a vegetable). Others say, there are genders and you can tell by looking at the bottom of the eggplant which one is female or male.

I really have no idea but do notice some eggplants have more seeds than others and the supposed physical difference. When picked young, eggplants have a little bit of seeds... or if picked mature, there are of course more seeds. Some mature eggplants have more seeds than others. The seeds are what make them bitter tasting so the less seeds, the better tasting the eggplant - and if you follow the gender rule - the males contain less seeds. So if you are shopping and don't want to waste your buck on the bitter ones, just look at the bottom where the flower was attached and figure out which one is male and purchase it.

Or you can plead ignorance (or just not care) purchase any eggplant, cut it up and soak it in salt. The salt will draw out the bitterness and will result in a sweeter tasting eggplant/ meal. Or you can just purchase the heavy one - heavy ones mean more veggie portion and less seeds.




Supposedly you can tell genders on any eggplant although these are a bit difficult.













American eggplant are the easiest to tell because of their size. These are a little bit better to tell the gender, if you decide to do so.

Can you tell the difference?





I got these pictures off of the internet - flickr. The bottom pictures is a little easier to tell which is which. If you decide to do some homework or research yourself I've been informed that the eggplant bottoms that look like belly buttons are females - they are indented and round whereas the males are not dented, most times smooth and look more like a slash or scar.

Good luck to those that care about eggplant genders.