How to determine the ripeness of an eggplant by its appearance

By color

It should be clarified that the color of the eggplant appears even in the ovary stage - some novice gardeners who have not had a chance to see the ovary of this vegetable before think that it is like a tomato, it will acquire color when it ripens. Therefore, the main guideline for determining ripeness in young fruits is not so much the color as the glossy surface. This is when the vegetable has already reached its biological maturity, its color will turn brownish.

Now a wide variety of eggplant varieties are planted, so you need to navigate by color based on the variety. The most common "blue" varieties are characterized by a rich purple-black color of the fruit. The vegetable retains this color during its growth, and begins to change it some time after reaching its maximum size.

For "blue" varieties, a sign that the vegetable is beginning to overripe is a slight lightening of the color, the formation of greenish foci or stripes at the top. The pulp of the fruit contains dense, but still white seeds. This eggplant can be eaten, but its flesh may be slightly bitter.

The main sign of the technical ripeness of "blue" eggplants is a glossy (shiny), smooth and elastic surface. When pressed, the peel should be slightly springy and easily return to its original state. If the peel is so hard that it doesn't press on with your finger, it's a sign that the vegetable is overripe.

In white eggplants, technical maturity is expressed in an intense milky color. The surface of white vegetables, depending on the variety, can be either glossy or shiny, therefore the main reference point is a uniform milky color. Overriding, these fruits will turn yellow, and upon reaching biological ripeness, they may even acquire a brown color.

As for the color and shine of the peel, the "blue" varieties, overripe, acquire a brownish color and lose their glossy shine. The rind becomes dull and flabby. In this case, the whole appearance of the vegetable will be unattractive and stale. Such fruits are no longer suitable for food.

To size

It is quite difficult to determine the degree of ripeness of an eggplant by size. First, you need to know the technical characteristics of the variety, and based on this, measure the length and diameter of the vegetable. Many vegetable growers are inclined to believe that eggplants, like zucchini, the younger, the tastier. However, one should not go to extremes - a young fruit can still significantly gain weight without losing its taste.

Can size indicate the maturity of a vegetable? - the question is not fundamental, since you can pluck eggplants at any stage of growth. The main thing is to prevent overripening. If you still want to allow them to grow to their maximum size, then the main criterion indicating that the vegetable has reached technical ripeness may be the cessation of its growth within one week.

If you look closely at young fruits, then their size increases by a couple of centimeters every day. And only when they grow to their maximum, they stop growing. If the eggplant has stopped growing in size, this means that it will soon begin to age, so there is no point in keeping it on the bush.

Video "Growing eggplant"

This video shows the eggplant harvesting process.

By maturity

If you grow unusual hybrids on your site, and you do not know exactly what color, size and shape they should be, then the only guideline in this case is the timing of the ripening of vegetables. The technical maturity of eggplants occurs on average in 25-40 days from the beginning of flowering.

When sowing seeds, pay attention to the ripening time of your hybrids, and it is better to keep the packaging until harvest. If the variety belongs to early ripening, then the first fruits can be harvested about 100-115 days from the day of sowing the seeds, or 20-25 days from the moment the peduncle appeared.

For varieties of the middle ripening period, the technical maturity of the fruits occurs 115-125 days after planting the seeds, and for late varieties - 120-140 days. But usually, hybrid varieties are characterized by an early ripening period.

In any case, a mature hybrid, regardless of size and color, should have a resilient glossy surface. It should be noted that some "colored" eggplants in the ovary stage may have a rough skin, and even a slight hairiness, but in the process of ripening the skin is smoothed and smoothed.

By the state of the pulp

The pulp of a ripe eggplant should be firm and firm. At the stage of technical maturity, it contains soft, underdeveloped seeds that are easily cut with a knife. If the seeds come off and stick to the knife, you can judge that the vegetable is slightly overripe. A slight bitterness may be present in such pulp - there is no bitterness in a young fruit.

The question may arise - how to find out the state of the pulp without cutting the eggplants? If you are picking vegetables from a market or supermarket, take a couple of the same size and weigh them in your hand. At the heaviest, the pulp will be the most dense and high-quality - as it ages, the pulp becomes loose, and its weight decreases. Roughly the same procedure can be done with fruits on a bush. Of course, you should not tear it off, but you just need to lift the fruit, compare its weight with the size - an experienced housewife usually will not have any difficulties with this.

Video “Eggplant. Harvesting"

How and when to harvest eggplants is discussed in the video.