Eggplant

There are at least four kinds of eggplants commonly used in Italy, and all of them taste different from the eggplants raised before the Second World War, a unanimous opinion of the country’s grandmothers. Globe-shaped, dark-purple-skinned Violetta di Firenze, called Turkish eggplants in Sicily, and the smaller purple ovals called Black Beauty in Italy resemble the two purple-skinned eggplants found in America. Signorine, as long and slender as the young women for whom they are named, are also called Violetta lunga and resemble Japanese eggplants. Larga Morada, or Tunisina in Sicily, are round and lightly striped with violet and white, while totally white-skinned eggplant are firm-fleshed and very sweet. No matter which kind they use, Italian grandmothers always buy firm, smooth eggplants with glossy skins.