Should I salt an eggplant
Eggplant – to salt or not to salt, that is a most vexed question. You’ll read recipes that say salting draws out bitterness, but not all eggplant varieties are excessively bitter and modern cultivation has given us less bitter varieties across the board. We’ve never actually struck a truly bitter eggplant but if you have (they do contain alkaloids which can have that sightly astringent edge) consider salting. Bitterness issues aside, we are still staunch salters, especially of larger types. Most smaller eggplants, like Japanese eggplants, don’t much need it as they have a naturally milder flavour.
Salting draws out moisture, giving deeper flavour and a better, tenderer texture. We don’t have our heads around the science of this (it’s ‘somethingsomething osmosis’ and ‘somethingsomething ions’) but we’ve eaten our share of chewy, squelchy eggplant and know it cooks that way when it’s not salted. Eggplant that’s been salted eats better and we swear it doesn’t absorb as much oil either (but we have no science for this, just our own biases so take it all with a grain of… oh, never mind).
Salting is not really a hassle; you just layer your slices, chunks or wedges of prepped eggplant in a colander, with a generous scattering of table salt over each layer. Leave it in the sink or over a bowl for around 30 minutes, or until you see beads of liquid forming on the surface of the eggplant and some draining out of the colander. Next, give the eggplant a jolly good rinse, shake it off, then lay it on several layers of kitchen paper (or a clean tea towel) and pat it dry. Your eggplant is now good to go.
Whether you peel your eggplant first depends on preference and the particular recipe but we generally don’t peel. The skin is not only perfectly edible, it delivers a fair whack of nutrients including things you’ve probably not heard of. Like the antioxidants nasunin (studied for its potential role in protecting cell membranes from damage) and anthocyanins, believed to have anti-inflammatory effects.
