But let’s start with what we know best. The purple aubergine (solanum melongena) is that fellow, borne on a herbaceous, perennial bush with large leaves and sometimes armored with spines. The dainty flowers, typical of the solalum family, are pale violet; they give way to those gourd-shaped fruits up to 30cm long, each containing a dense white pulp and a number of flat seeds. It may well be that white variants, smaller and more egg-shaped, gave rise to the common moniker of eggplant.
The species, as with all eggplants, is not fussy about soil conditions; it thrives almost anywhere, and crops – literally ‒ in the most unexpected places. To grow your own, simply sow the seeds in pots and within a few days you will have plenty to transfer to open ground. All it may need is an occasional watering in ultra-dry conditions. The aubergine is productive all year round.
The only real downside is the plant’s susceptibility to a range of beetles and aphids, and a disease called verticillium. For this reason, it should be planted in ground not recently occupied by other solanaceous species such as tomatoes, pepper or other aubergines.
Although the raw fruit is somewhat bitter, the cooked version is bland, and since it blends easily with other flavours, is better employed as an addition to stronger ingredients – as in Greek moussaka or French ratatouille. Here in Thailand, it is often fried with fermented soybean or egg yolk, sometimes hollowed out and stuffed, or added to a soup. While the white pulp is not rich in nutrients, it is a useful source of phosphorus and magnesium and does contain some vitamin B.
If you have already used it for culinary purposes, you will know that the flesh has peculiar properties: fried, it can absorb huge amounts of fat or oil. But it needs to be cooked quickly once it is cut open, since the flesh oxidizes and quickly turns brown.Oddly, it is one of the very few plants to contain nicotine, though in such small quantities as to be harmless.
If you asked a Thai for his favourite aubergine, he would probably opt for what he calls ma kheua ‒ otherwise called a brinjal, another variety with an open, bushy habit that produces smallish (3-4cm) round fruits. As with the purple eggplant, it has pointed sepals at the top of each berry, rather like its relative, the tomato. The fruits, normally eaten when unripe and often raw, are green with streaks of white. When mature, they turn yellow. Although exaggerated claims are sometimes made for the brinjal as a health food, it does contain high levels of antioxidants and is rich in vitamin B. Enjoy it in a red or green curry; without brinjals they do not taste the same.
Equally easy to grow is a variety known in Thailand as ma khuea phuang, grown from a prickly perennial bush with grey bark. The fruits of solanum torvum grow in small, neat clusters and are tiny, almost pea-like, with a characteristically hard exterior. Hence its common name of turkey berry. It is eaten both as a crunchy fresh vegetable, ground up in nam prik, or added to various curries. Endowed with massive amounts of vitamin A, it has been used in folk medicine for aeons, and is reputed to assist in the control of diabetes and to reduce high blood pressure.
Known also as devil’s fig, the plant is hardy and vigorous, and may reach two metres in height. Another perennial, it normally lives for a couple of years, its seeds distributed by frugivorous (fruit-eating) birds. Here in Phuket I have observed it thriving on recently disturbed land.
The same can be said for the yellow eggplant (Solanum stramoniifolium), a species of tangy, sour-tasting aubergine with round yellow fruits, and often covered with a fine layer of hair. About 2cm or so across, the fruits grow on a small bush. Like the turkey berry, it also grows wild in Phuket, especially on waste ground.
Fascinating plants. And cousins not only to edibles such as the tomato and potato, but also to the deadly nightshade, Europe’s most poisonous berry. You should have no trouble at all in cultivating these fellows in your garden. And a few turkey berries may help to keep that high blood pressure under control.
Patrick Campbell’s book ‘The Tropic Gardener’, described in one Bangkok review as the best book on Thai gardening for 50 years, is available for B500 (half price) to personal callers from 59/84 Soi Saiyuan 13 in Rawai (Tel: 076-613227 or 085-7827551).