Quick Tip: How to Avoid Bitter Eggplant

Some recipes advocate salting eggplant before cooking. Others swear cutting out the inner core of seeds will do the trick. Among all the advice, both scientific and folkloric, we’ve really only come across one tip that works every single time.

Quite simply: buy eggplants as fresh as possible and use them right away.

The older an eggplant gets, meaning the more time that’s passed since harvesting, the more bitter it becomes. This explains why the eggplants we buy at the farmer’s market this time of year are always so delicious while the ones we buy at the grocery store end up with problems. Who knows how long ago those grocery store eggplants were picked!

Of course, if grocery store eggplants are your only option (because who doesn’t crave a little eggplant parmesan in the middle of winter?) then it’s time to try out those other remedies. We’ve had the most success salting the cut cubes of eggplant and letting them sit for a few minutes while we prep the rest of the recipe. Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking theorizes that salting doesn’t actually change the eggplant’s bitterness so much as it decreases our perception of it, but we’ll take it if it works.

Any other tips for avoiding bitter eggplant?

(Image: Flickr member Jennifer Dickert licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (17)

I have good luck buying baby eggplants, too - I think the globe eggplants taste bitter but love the tiny varieties!

I thought the purpose of salting the eggplant was to draw out some of the moisture, so it isn't soggy when cooked.

funny, i was just talking about this with a co-worker. i find as long as it's cooked well and proper, it isn't bitter. salt, however, is a natural balance to acids, so salting does have some effect on the taste.

In all my years of eating eggplant (and I eat alot of it in season), I have never noticed a bitter taste. Perhaps it is because I get them at the farmer's market and therefore they are as fresh as can be but I've just never come across a bitter one.

Thanks for the tip!! I never noticed my eggplants tasting bitter either but I think that may be partly due to the fact that I generally cook mine as soon as I buy them since they seem to have a shorter shelf life than other veggies.

I buy them from the grocery store and rarely use them right away. I've never noticed a bitter taste. I am very sensitive to bitter tastes (I even find coffee too bitter), but I've never noticed an issue with eggplant.

I find most of the bitterness in the peel, so I just peel it or give it zebra stripes.

I've never had a problem with bitterness, but I do always put some sea salt on them, I think it just accentuates the flavor. On the other hand, I find peeling them to be a must. The skins are just too tough for my taste, especially when grilling them.

i heard the salt draws out the bitterness, but i can't be bothered and i cannot say i have ever had a bitter eggplant although i have eaten plenty.

I peel them. But really, if I want guaranteed yummy eggplant, I go with Japanese eggplant.

Eggplant parmesan sounds so good right now, and lo, there is an eggplant on my counter! High suggestibility FTW!

I've heard that soaking in milk helps too. I seem to only like eggplant from thai or vietnamese restaurants.

My Italian neighbor always told me to buy the boy eggplants, not the girls - the boys are longer and don't have hips. This works, but like many who have posted, I've never found eggplants to be bitter.

I salt it, but mostly because I find it draws out a lot of the excess moisture.

Good Eats has a recent show about sweet and salty. Apparently, the salt prevents your bitter receptors on your tongue from being activated.
I'm meaning to try out his grapefruit experiment to see if it's true.

In Japan, the trick is to soak cut up eggplant in water for about 10 minutes before cooking. I find that it does the trick.

I salt my eggplant, but only to draw out the moisture. I HATE chewy, spongey eggplant, but I've never had a problem with bitterness.

I must be one of the few, like hyzen, who don't find eggplant bitter. It does soak up huge amounts of oil. My basic recipe is

put oil or ghee in jelly roll pan to desired amt
heat in 350-450 oven then brush so that it covers pan
cut eggplant into 1/2" slices put on pan and bake about 10-15 min, then turn and bake until
desired doneness.

I have made all kinds of recipes with this basic approach. Great jumping off point

Eggplant parmesan, ratatouille, thai indian dishes, babba ganoush (sp?)etc.
Just found this site, am thoroughly enjoying all of you!!

Cheers
Judy in Wa