Eggplant is a classic vegetable that cannot be missed in the kitchen. Thanks to its versatility and fantastic taste, it can be considered one of the most used vegetables worldwide.
Its taste can be translated as bland and bitter, but in some way, the eggplant will always result ideally with any other combination of food.
Anyway, as we already know that eggplant can be eaten in any ways possible, is it the case when it is eaten raw?
Can you eat raw eggplant? Yes, you can safely eat raw eggplant without getting any food poisoning, but only if consumed in small quantities because it contains solanine, a substance that can cause upset to your digestive system.
Is eating raw eggplant bad for you?
It can be bad for you only if consumed in large quantities because it contains solanine.
Since the eggplant is part of the nightshade family, together with potatoes, tomatoes, it contains a toxic alkaloid called solanine.
That alkaloid is more present in the leaves and flowers of the eggplant, but it can be easily found on the eggplant.
If consumed in large quantities, it can be dangerous for you. In fact, for a common person, 400mg of solanine could represent life-treating.
And on average, the quantity of Solanine present on eggplant is 10mg, so you should eat 40 eggplants raw to be considered dangerous for you.
Does eggplant need to be cooked to eat?
Eggplant doesn’t have to be necessary cooked to be eaten, since you need to eat many of them to feel stomach upset.
Anyway, if you want to eliminate any possible risk of contamination of toxic substances, it is preferred to cook them.
Regarding the cooking modality, the eggplant recipes on the web are infinite; they can be fried, boiled, cooked grilled, roasted, or prepared with a great parmesan.
If, for some reason, you are passionate about trying raw foods, you can always keep almost the original flavor of the eggplant by slightly boiling it.
It is not a common practice, but it is the only solution that you have to adopt if you want to keep the original taste, and at the same time, be sure that you will not get any food poisoning from it.
What are the benefits of eating raw eggplant?
The benefits of eating raw eggplants are almost the same as those of cooked ones; they are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, in a small number of calories.
As for every type of vegetable eaten raw, they will carry on more benefits, but as well as they may bring you some risk of toxic contaminating derived from the solanine.
Eggplants consumed raw or cooked are essential nutrients that should be integrated into any form of diet present.
Eggplants are used mainly for weight loss because they have small amounts of calories and are high in fibers, making the perfect combination for people searching for weight loss.
Despite the benefits that they can give, they are the perfect combination for every type of dish you wish to do and adding it will elevate the dish’s overall flavor, and it will give you important nutrients for your diet.
Is it safe to eat the skin of eggplant?
Yes, it is completely safe to eat the skin of the eggplant; in fact, it is present in most dishes.
In the first part of the article, we already saw that it is safe to consume the eggplant raw by only paying attention to its quantity.
The skin of the eggplant is not less; it is true that for some people, it can give a sense of chewy, but the skin, as well as the other part of the eggplant, is rich in nutrients.
If you don’t like the bitter taste that the skin of the eggplant has, you can eliminate it or just try to cook it differently.
One of the most common ways of cooking the eggplant with the skin is by grilling it.
Some other famous methods and dishes where the skin of the eggplant is included are parmigiana.
See also :
What part of eggplant is poisonous?
The most dangerous part of the eggplant is the leaves and the flowers because is where the toxic solanine is stored.
Leaving out the fact that the consumption of leaves of eggplant will not be present in any dishes, it is important to remember that it represents the most dangerous part of the eggplant.
What’s the best way to eat eggplant?
There isn’t the best way of eating eggplant, as it all depends upon your personal preferences; anyway, the nature of the eggplant permits you to use it in any combination you are thinking of.
Some of the most famous ways of cooking eggplant are :
- Grilling it
- Making it with pasta
- topping on pizza
- Insert it on Kebab
- Fry it
- Braies it
The fantasy of using the eggplant in the kitchen is illimited; there are so many dishes where the eggplant can be used that it is challenging to list everyone.
Some of them are more healthy than others; it will all depend upon your goals; if you are trying to lose weight, the best option will be grilling it, because the other options present include some other ingredients that may increase the overall calories of the dish.
Conclusion
Eating raw eggplant will not represent a very high risk for your health because the quantity you need to eat to get some sickness symptoms will be high. Anyway, it is essential to consider all the risks derived from eating raw aubergines and consider that massive consumption of raw eggplant may represent a risk for your health.