Where Did Eggplant Originate From
An eggplant is a fruit from the plant of the same name, although it is considered to be a vegetable for cooking purposes. The eggplant is from the nightshade family, which means that it is closely related to the tomato and potato. There are many different varieties of eggplant, but the most commonly available variety has dark purple skin and light green colored flesh with small seeds on the inside. Let’s take a look at where the eggplant originates from.
Where does eggplant come from?
Eggplant is native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been cultivated in eastern and southern Asia before the time records were kept. However, it wasn’t introduced to the Western world until the middle ages.
Today the eggplant is grown in many different countries, and many of the largest producers are still situated in Asia. China leads the worldwide production at 19 million metric tons, followed by India at 10 metric tons. Large quantities are also grown in Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Italy, the Philippines and Spain.
Did you know?
As a nightshade, the eggplant is also closely related to tobacco. The eggplant has higher levels of nicotine than any other edible plant. About 9 kg (20 lbs) of eggplant contains the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette.
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