Aubergine

The aubergine is one of the lowest calorie vegetables.

Aubergine season

The best season for aubergines is between June and August, but it is also found from April until October.

Nutritional value of aubergine

The aubergine is one of the lowest calorie fresh vegetables (it is actually a fruit) , with 18 kilocalories per 100 grammes. Easy to digest (as it contains so little fat) this vegetable has a wide range of minerals, vitamins and fibre. It is also supposed to help fight high cholesterol and contains many antioxidants in its skin.

Aubergine varieties

There is a wide variety of aubergines of very different sizes and colours. Although the most commonly eaten variety in France is the large, elongated dark purple aubergine, other varieties are round, green or even white.

Choosing and cooking aubergine

Choose firm, shiny auabergines with smooth skin, free of brown blemishes. In this condition it will not contain too many seeds, which are bitter. It must be a pretty violet colour, neither too light nor too dark.

It is best to steam it or cook it in the oven because it easily absorbs fat.

It is used in many Mediterranean dishes such as moussaka, baba ghanoush, ratatouille or aubergine parmigiana.