‘Hansel’ and ‘Gretel’ eggplant are All-America Selections eggplants (Solanum melongena), which have been tested in gardens throughout the United States and found to be winners because of their production and taste.

‘Hansel,’ an All-America Selection in 2008, is a miniature eggplant. It produces finger-sized clusters of shiny purple fruit. Harvest when fruit is about 3 inches long. If left on the plant, the fruit will grow to about 10 inches, but it does not become bitter like other eggplants that are not harvested immediately. There also are few seeds in this variety.

‘Hansel’ gets about 3 feet tall and 30-inches wide, making it ideal for containers. The container should be at least 16 inches deep. In the garden, space plants about 2 feet apart. This is considered an early variety, which can be harvested about 55 days after transplanting to the garden.

‘Gretel,’ an All-America Selection for 2009, also is early and can be harvested in about 55 days from transplanting outdoors. It has glossy white sweet fruit with tender skin. The ideal size for harvest is 3 to 4 inches long.

The highly productive ‘Gretel’ will get about 3 feet tall and wide, making it ideal for containers. This eggplant also has few seeds in the fruit.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 eggplant, peeled and diced
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup diced toasted bread
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. Boil and drain eggplant. Mix in 1/2 cup of cheese and bread. Spoon into small casserole dish.
3. In a small bowl combine cream, flour and poultry seasoning. Pour over eggplant mixture and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch slices
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  1 cup instant mashed potato flakes

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
• 1 medium onion, sliced into rings
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

• 3 eggplants, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

The eggplant, aubergine, or brinjal (Solanum melongena), is a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades) and genus Solanum. It bears a fruit of the same name, commonly used as a vegetable in cooking. As a nightshade, it is closely related to the tomato and potato and is native to India and Sri Lanka.

It is a delicate perennial often cultivated as an annual. It grows 40 to 150 cm (16 to 57 in) tall, with large coarsely lobed leaves that are 10 to 20 cm (4-8 in) long and 5 to 10 cm (2-4 in) broad. (Semi-)wild types can grow much larger, to 225 cm (7 ft) with large leaves over 30 cm (12 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) broad. The stem is often spiny. The flowers are white to purple, with a five-lobed corolla and yellow stamens. The fruit is fleshy, less than 3 cm in diameter on wild plants, but much larger in cultivated forms.

The fruit is botanically classified as a berry, and contains numerous small, soft seeds, which are edible, but are bitter because they contain (an insignificant amount of) nicotinoid alkaloids, unsurprising as it is a close relative of tobacco.

The plant is native to India.^[1][2] It has been cultivated in southern and eastern Asia since prehistory^{[citation needed]} but appears to have become known to the Western world no earlier than ca. 1500 CE. The first known written record of the plant is found in Qí mín yào shù, an ancient Chinese agricultural treatise completed in 544 CE.^[3] The numerous Arabic and North African names for it, along with the lack of ancient Greek and Roman names, indicate that it was introduced throughout the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the early Middle Ages. The scientific name Solanum melongena is derived from a 16th century Arabic term for one variety.

The name eggplant, used in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada refers to the fact that the fruits of some 18th century European cultivars were yellow or white and resembled goose or hen's eggs. The name aubergine, which is used in British English, is an adoption from the French word (derived from Catalan albergínia, from Arabic al-badinjan, from Persian badin-gan, from Sanskrit vatin-ganah). In Indian and South African English, the fruit is known as a "brinjal." Aubergine and brinjal, with their distinctive br-jn or brn-jl aspects, derive from Arabic and Sanskrit. In the Caribbean Trinidad, it also goes by the Latin derivative "meloongen".

Because of the plant's relationship with the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, the fruit was at one time believed to be extremely dangerous.

Cultivated varieties

Three varieties of eggplant

In Thai cuisine small and round varieties are preferred.

Different varieties of the plant produce fruit of different size, shape and color, especially purple, green, or white. There are even orange varieties.

The most widely cultivated varieties (cultivars) in Europe and North America today are elongated ovoid, 12–25 cm wide (4 1/2 to 9 in) and 6–9 cm broad (2 to 4 in) in a dark purple skin.

A much wider range of shapes, sizes and colors is grown in India and elsewhere in Asia. Larger varieties weighing up to a kilogram (2 pounds) grow in the region between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, while smaller varieties are found elsewhere. Colors vary from white to yellow or green as well as reddish-purple and dark purple. Some cultivars have a color gradient, from white at the stem to bright pink to deep purple or even black. Green or purple cultivars in white striping also exist. Chinese varieties are commonly shaped like a narrower, slightly pendulous cucumber, and were sometimes called Japanese eggplants in North America.

Oval or elongated oval-shaped and black-skinned cultivars include Harris Special Hibush, Burpee Hybrid, Black Magic, Classic, Dusky, and Black Beauty. Slim cultivars in purple-black skin include Little Fingers, Ichiban, Pingtung Long, and Tycoon; in green skin Louisiana Long Green and Thai (Long) Green; in white skin Dourga. Traditional, white-skinned, egg-shaped cultivars include Casper and Easter Egg. Bicolored cultivars with color gradient include Rosa Bianca and Violetta di Firenze. Bicolored cultivars in striping include Listada de Gandia and Udumalapet. In some parts of India, miniature varieties (most commonly called Vengan) are popular. A particular variety of green brinjal known as Matti Gulla is grown in Matti village of Udupi district in Karnataka state in India.

Ingredients: 

• 2 medium cucumbers - peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (12 ounce) package tortilla chips

• 4 large cucumbers, diced
• 6 vine ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 medium red onion diced
• 1 diced jalapeno (or more if you prefer) 
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar (white vinegar can be a substitute) 
• 1 packet dry ranch dressing
• Salt and pepper, to taste