The beloved aubergine bake

Melanzana, the Italian word for aubergine, was once mela insana, meaning ‘insane’ or ‘unhealthy apple’. In the past it was also known as pomo sdegnoso, ‘disdained apple’. Many Italian words for fruit and vegetables have the word mela (apple) or pomo (pome) in them. Indeed, melagrana (pomegranate) is made of mela and grana (apple and grains), just as the English version combines pome (apple/pome) and granate, meaning an ap