Zeedman, I can see the pumpkin on a stick used that way, but these look a little too large to dry and use. I would think that they would grow moldy before they dried out. I am not speaking from experience on these, just thinking that would happen. Have you grown these and dried them? I did grow pumpkins on a stick a few years ago and they are very light even as a fresh cut stem. This particulat variety looks to have substance to it. Just my thoughts, for all 2 cents worth.

Yes, I grew TO several years ago. When I save seed from eggplant, I generally let them get as ripe as frost will allow, pick them, and let the mature fruit ripen further indoors. When the eggplant begins to rot or get soft, I process the seeds. There are some ripe "Casper" and "Diamond" in my basement now, which are almost ready to process.

The thing was, most of the TO didn't get soft or rot, they just began to dry. Mine weren't on a stem, so I couldn't use them for decoration; I harvested the seed before they dried completely. The wild form of [I]S. gilo[/I] I allowed to dry on the stem.

Well, That is interesting. I look at the mass of them and wouldn't expect them to dry. Interesting to know for future reference. Hopefully I can remember to order some when I do my seed order for next year ( or not worry about the cost of 1 more variety. What's money worth? I can't take it with me when I go)

I have been learning about the Solanum aethiopicum/gilo, S. integrifolium, S. anguivi species complex a lot lately, because I like the spines. I have a couple seedlings under my grow light going strong. My understanding is that S. integrifolium is supposed to be a backcross between S. aethiopicum, the kind used for food in Africa and South Asia, and S. anguivi, the wild ancestor.
[url]http://www.genres.de/fileadmin/SITE_GENRES/downloads/schriftenreihe/Band22_Gesamt.pdf#page=153[/url]
This article talks about the taxonomy on p. 153-154.


I found this ebay auction recently labelled "melanzana lunga rossa," or "long red eggplant" in Italian. The fruit is shaped like a common eggplant, but it's orange-red. What really caught my eye is that the plants look like they are about eight feet tall in pictures. I kind of doubted it was an eggplant because of that. The stems are green like an S. melongena instead of dark like an S. integrifolium though. The seller informed me that it came from Brazil but that is all I know about the provenance. I can't post the link to the auction or her pictures, but I wish you all could see it. It's the strangest thing.

An interesting link.

Chances are that the "melanzana lunga rossa" is similar to the Brazilian Gilo that I grew. It was a very tall, green-stemmed plant, with clusters of very small flowers. It reached over 4' even in my short summer. The fruit, though, was small; only about 3". A variety with longer fruit would be interesting. I'm kind of skeptical of the fruit resembling that of [I]S. melongena[/I] though... wish I could see a photo.

[QUOTE=clkeiper;308082]Zeedman, I can see the pumpkin on a stick used that way, but these look a little too large to dry and use. I would think that they would grow moldy before they dried out. I am not speaking from experience on these, just thinking that would happen. Have you grown these and dried them? I did grow pumpkins on a stick a few years ago and they are very light even as a fresh cut stem. This particulat variety looks to have substance to it. Just my thoughts, for all 2 cents worth.[/QUOTE]

While I've never tried the red eggplants, I recently posted about saving seeds from a Ratnayake eggplant picked in august.

I was just amazed at the pristine color (bright, shiny yellow/gold with maroonish stripes) and the perfect condition of the eggplant after over four months on the counter of my kitchen.

So, apparently, some varieties of eggplant, even some of the larger ones, can dry over a very long time without rotting, softening, or getting moldy. Pretty cool!

Feta Eggplant Recipe
 

[QUOTE=Redbaron;307773]Deb,

Since you actually wish you liked it, and presumably would be willing to try it many possible ways to find a recipe you like......

Try the recipe I posted in the recipes section for feta eggplant. So far no one who has yet tried it didn't like it. And I gave it to many who claimed they didn't like eggplant.

But even if you don't like it, all is good. Tastes vary.[/QUOTE]

[B]Red:[/B] I searched the forums Cookbook and Tomato Recipes and then searched all forums for the recipe Feta Eggplant and couldn't find it. Could you repost it??? Certainly sounds good and would like to try it.

[QUOTE=riceke;353939][B]Red:[/B] I searched the forums Cookbook and Tomato Recipes and then searched all forums for the recipe Feta Eggplant and couldn't find it. Could you repost it??? Certainly sounds good and would like to try it.[/QUOTE]

Roasted eggplant w/Feta

INGREDIENTS
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably organic sheep or goat
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small hot pepper, such as jalapeño, seeded and minced preferably fully ripe red (optional)
1 cayenne hot pepper seeded and minced preferably fully ripe red (optional)
5-10 sweet grape, currant, or cherry tomatoes diced (extra sweet varieties)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional to taste)
Pinch of sugar (optional to taste)

Preparation
1. Position oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler.
2. Line a baking pan with foil. Place eggplant in the pan and poke a few holes all over it to vent steam. Broil the eggplant, turning with tongs every 5 minutes, until the skin is charred and a knife inserted into the dense flesh near the stem goes in easily, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board until cool enough to handle.
3. Put lemon juice in a medium bowl. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scrape the flesh into the bowl, tossing with the lemon juice to help prevent discoloring. Blend eggplant into a chunky paste.
4. Add oil and stir with a fork until the oil is absorbed. (It should be a little chunky.) Stir in feta, onion, bell pepper, hot pepper (if using), tomatoes, herbs and salt. Taste and add sugar if needed. (I never needed sugar but tastes vary)
5. chill

Note: This has 2 versions sweet and spicy. If you choose sweet, then sweet peppers should be used instead of Cayenne or jalapeño and no cilantro. If you prefer spicy then include both hot peppers and cilantro. Powdered herbs or chili powder can be substituted for fresh but it is much better with fresh herbs.

Serve with pita or any "dipping" bread. One festive way to serve it is in a hollow stuffing tomato with a mint leaf garnish.

Since I originally posted this I have tried a few variations. (can't help myself :twisted:) And the best variation I tried used pickled red cherry tomatoes from Moshou's recipe instead of fresh cherry tomatoes! Just WOW.:yes:

Credits: This is a slightly modified version of a Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip recipe
From EatingWell: September/October 2008, July/August 2012

Thanks much!
 

[QUOTE=Redbaron;353942]Roasted eggplant w/Feta

INGREDIENTS
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably organic sheep or goat
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small hot pepper, such as jalapeño, seeded and minced preferably fully ripe red (optional)
1 cayenne hot pepper seeded and minced preferably fully ripe red (optional)
5-10 sweet grape, currant, or cherry tomatoes diced (extra sweet varieties)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional to taste)
Pinch of sugar (optional to taste)

Preparation
1. Position oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler.
2. Line a baking pan with foil. Place eggplant in the pan and poke a few holes all over it to vent steam. Broil the eggplant, turning with tongs every 5 minutes, until the skin is charred and a knife inserted into the dense flesh near the stem goes in easily, 14 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board until cool enough to handle.
3. Put lemon juice in a medium bowl. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scrape the flesh into the bowl, tossing with the lemon juice to help prevent discoloring. Blend eggplant into a chunky paste.
4. Add oil and stir with a fork until the oil is absorbed. (It should be a little chunky.) Stir in feta, onion, bell pepper, hot pepper (if using), tomatoes, herbs and salt. Taste and add sugar if needed. (I never needed sugar but tastes vary)
5. chill

Note: This has 2 versions sweet and spicy. If you choose sweet, then sweet peppers should be used instead of Cayenne or jalapeño and no cilantro. If you prefer spicy then include both hot peppers and cilantro. Powdered herbs or chili powder can be substituted for fresh but it is much better with fresh herbs.

Serve with pita or any "dipping" bread. One festive way to serve it is in a hollow stuffing tomato with a mint leaf garnish.

Since I originally posted this I have tried a few variations. (can't help myself :twisted:) And the best variation I tried used pickled red cherry tomatoes from Moshou's recipe instead of fresh cherry tomatoes! Just WOW.:yes:

Credits: This is a slightly modified version of a Roasted Eggplant & Feta Dip recipe
From EatingWell: September/October 2008, July/August 2012[/QUOTE]

Have you tried it yet?

I've got two of the Italian long reds and two of the S. integrifolium. One of the S. integrifolium is in my window box, which gets about gets about 2 hours of sun and then a lot of "daytime," and the other is in a 5-gallon bucket getting eaten up by some sort of bug. The long reds are growing like some sort of crazy tree, they more vigorous than any eggplant I've got growing, with huge leaves.

[QUOTE=Kierkegaard;356875]I've got two of the Italian long reds and two of the S. integrifolium. One of the S. integrifolium is in my window box, which gets about gets about 2 hours of sun and then a lot of "daytime," and the other is in a 5-gallon bucket getting eaten up by some sort of bug. The long reds are growing like some sort of crazy tree, they more vigorous than any eggplant I've got growing, with huge leaves.[/QUOTE]

I hope the Italian Red succeeds, I'm very curious to see what it produces. Has it begun to flower yet?

[QUOTE=Zeedman;372953]I hope the Italian Red succeeds, I'm very curious to see what it produces. Has it begun to flower yet?[/QUOTE]
Sorry I took so long to respond! It's the really tall one on the left. As you can see it fruited a lot. The flowers were somewhere between eggplant and tomato size, with white petals. It grew too tall to support itself like an eggplant, about equally tall as a litchi tomato (the tall one on the right) but a little less stem strength. I still haven't cooked with any red eggplant fruit. I tried them ripe and unripe both--although maybe I didn't get the green ones early enough--but both times they tasted like poison.

Fun thread as I relish eggplants, and come from a culture (mediterranean) where we eat lots of it.

Here's the simplest recipe I know (other than snacking on the little ones raw straight off the plant, which I've done.)

1) Grill on hi heat over charcoal, turn over 2~3x until soft inside and skin is a bit charred.
2) Remove and put in deep dish to let cool for a bit so you don't burn your fingers peeling it.
3) Peel skin gently, removing all the little bits. Save the juice that oozed out.
4) Cut in small chunks, sprinkle with salt and EVOO.
5) Savor with slices of pita bread. Smooth and smokey.

Works with any eggplant, black beauty and ichiban being the standards. Use the younger fruits which are sweeter and have fewer seeds.

[LEFT]Kierkegaard, thanks for posting the photo. Your plant very closely resembles the Brazilian[I] S. gilo[/I] that I grew several years ago. The flowers were white, small, and borne in clusters, the fruit closely resembled yours in shape, and the plants grew to about 5' tall before killed by frost. I could barely tolerate the bitterness of the immature fruits.

[I]"So, apparently, some varieties of eggplant, even some of the larger ones, can dry over a very long time without rotting, softening, or getting moldy. Pretty cool!"[/I]

Well, I guess there's something to be said when you are so bitter, even mold won't touch you.;)
Taboule, you had me until Step 3. That's how I freeze eggplant - cooked and peeled, with stem on - for the winter. When I pull it out, then it's Step 4, except I add the chopped eggplant to a seasoned egg batter & make mini omelets.
[/LEFT]