Talk:Eggplant/Archive 1

Nightshade relation

 * My World Book Encyclopedia states that "the shiny purple fruit of the Eggplant, which is now a popular vegetable, was at one time belived to be poisonous." Which makes perfect sense because of its relation to and resemblance of some night shade species such as the deadly nightshade; which is why I added it. --Dagibit 18:06, 21 August 2006 (UTC)

Proposal: Rename to eggplant?
Eggplant seems like the most common name for this in my dialect of English (Eastern/Southern US). I had not heard of Aubergine before I came upon this article. Maybe the majority of English speakers use this word, but if not I would propose a move. What do others think? Should I list a requested move? Is there more to discuss?--Andrew c 00:44, 6 October 2006 (UTC)


 * If the majority of British English speakers call it Aubergine, then we should apply the MOS's principle of staying with the current dialect rule. Otherwise it should be moved to eggplant. --Yath 03:27, 7 October 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree completely, I just honestly do not know the answer to the question. And because I had never heard of Aubergine before, I've proposed this move.--Andrew c 03:56, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Do not move WP policy (as cited above) is quite clear on this. When there are regional variants, and none is clearly predominant world-wide, we stick with what the article started with. Other versions should of course be mentioned in the article (as they are here) and redirects should be in place for them (as they are here). --Macrakis 16:19, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Look!I live in australia and we ALL call it eggplant. if someone called it aubergine here we would call them a brit. in america they call it eggplant and in several other countries they call it eggplant. if this isnt a larger population than england and france then im really bad at maths. Eggplant is more dominant than 'aubergine'.so macrakis, you really cant add up!!!lol —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.229.1.152 (talk) 10:25, 15 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Did you notice how it isn't clear whether "aubergine" is the common name in Britain? If you can clarify that question, please do so. The policy is clear enough, but we don't have enough knowledge to apply it yet. --Yath 16:38, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

I did a little more research. Seraching google for "co.uk eggplant" yielded 116,000 hits, while "co.uk Aubergine" received 309,000 hits. (but looking at the hits, the later gives a lot of pages dealing with the color and proper names and other non-plant/food related items). Then searching an online cookbook for eggplant got 0, while aubergine got 2 pages worth. Then searching the bbc's recpies, eggplant gets 4 hits, aubergine gets 129. It does appear as if Aubergine is more commonly used in the UK. Pending further comment, I will withdraw the proposal. A side note, could someone tell me how the British pronounce Aubergine?--Andrew c 17:18, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Please do your homework before making proposals like this in the future. Thanks. --Macrakis 18:02, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
 * No need to scold me. I came to talk and asked the question 24 hours before I posted the requested move. Anyway, since you seem to know so much, can you tell me how to pronounce this word?--Andrew c 18:39, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Andrew, as a contributor to an encyclopedia, you should be able to answer this for yourself by consulting references such as the American Heritage Dictionary under aubergine; the Merriam-Webster Dictionary under aubergine, etc. --Macrakis 22:40, 7 October 2006 (UTC)


 * In UK English, the word is pronounced like the French aubergine, but rather anglicised, to give something akin to O-ber-zheen, where "zh" is the soft, French "j" sound. [[Image:Flag of Europe.svg|20px]][[Image:Flag of Romania.svg|20px]] Ronline ✉ 12:05, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

''It was requested that this article be renamed but the procedure outlined at WP:RM did not appear to be followed, and consensus could not be determined. Please request a move again with proper procedure if there is still a desire for the page to be moved. Thank you for your time!'' --  tariq abjotu  03:49, 13 October 2006 (UTC)

Actually, the page should be moved back to Eggplant, because that is the name it was originally written under. It was moved to "Aubergine" in August 2006 after being at "Eggplant" since March 2002. —Angr 14:04, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * That is correct. The move was actually made July 30, with no discussion. That was improper. Furthermore Australia, Canada, and the USA include a great majority of the native English speakers of the world. Unless there is a compelling reason given here, I will move it back in to eggplant shortly. Pollinator 14:44, 2 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The page began as Aubergine on March 23, 2002. Is that not correct? Zzorse 04:36, 7 January 2007 (UTC)
 * I was mistaken. I agree, the page should be moved back to "Eggplant". Zzorse 09:36, 7 January 2007 (UTC)


 * The move is accomplished; may take a bit more cleanup. Pollinator 06:09, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

We should take an idea from the Italian language wikipedia and move this article under Solanum melongena to please all. Scientific names are non regional and should be agreed by all. Otherwise, I agree on having it named eggplant. Even living in the British West Indies it's been called eggplant. 63.136.113.186 07:36, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
 * That would be a good idea, were it a consistent policy for all plants. But it generally is done of Wikipedia only for those that are not normally known by common names. Pollinator 06:09, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Lets ask how many Americans know what an Aubergine is. Then lets ask how many Britons know what an Eggplant is. Mghabmw 00:40, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

I can say categorically that this plant is known virtually exclusively in the UK as an aubergine. However most people (if they have heard of an aubergine at all, since it's not especially common except among vegetarians) will be aware of the US variant. It is pronounced 'Oh-ber-gine', with a soft 'g' (it's the 'j' in French words like 'bonjour', although in English it often ends up identical in practise to 'sheen', depending on accent) and the stress on the first syllable. FreeMorpheme 12:54, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Ugh. Why is this page at "eggplant"? The page notes that this name is only the North American variation and that it has little linkage, etymologically speaking, to the roots of the word. I know that a majority of Wikipedians are American, but surely we should be avoiding systemic bias? I don't think from reading above there was any real consensus on the move from Aubergine to Eggplant or vice versa. This move discussion should go to someplace official where it will be seen by more editors. --163.1.165.116 04:14, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

I find it hard to believe UK English speakers generally will be that bothered what it's called. Older cookbooks in the UK always called it "eggplant", often giving "aubergine" as an alternative. The latter supplanted the older usage in the 1970's. Obviously, this is because a lot of Brits encountered the vegetable for the first time on holiday in France, and fell in with French usage. (France has always had a lot more culinary cachet in Britain the USA.) However, I'm sure we all know it used to be called an eggplant. Eggplants were rare and expensive in the '60's, and they often were actually white or cream, making the name meaningful. We only see these varieties rarely now.

Incidentally, it is totally untrue that aubergines/eggplants are rare or confined to vegetarians in the UK. They are sold in every supermarket, and by all vegetable shops and market stalls. They are very popular and many of us try to grow them. Their use grew throughout the '70's and '80's, when moussaka and ratatouille were very modish dishes in the UK. They are especially popular with South Asian and East European families in the UK, and I think the Punjabi name (baigan - from Persian) has probably tended to reinforce the use of "aubergine", which is basically the same word with an Arabic definite article. In both South Asian languages and UK English, the name is also often used to describe a particular shade of purple, and this is another reinforcing factor. Sjwells53 (talk) 16:44, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

'Aubergine' is the name used in the UK, and I first saw 'eggplant' used in an Australian book, I think. Is 'aubergine' used in the US? Personally, I would prefer 'aubergine', though I am not sure what others think. Gm33223 23rd February

I thought "eggplant" was Americanese for Avocado - 'cos it's a bit like a boiled egg (the seed being the hardened yolk); I'm bit astonished that that's what you call an Aubergine - where's the logic in that?! Clearly, as I've been saying for the last 5 years, we need an American-English wikipedia, and an English-English wikipaedia - just like Norwegian (nynorsk and bokmal) or Dutch/Flemish/Afrikaans or the various latin dialects have... then we could save an awful lot of time wasted on arguments between two sets of people who think they speak the same language, but each other's subtle variations often quite weird and sometimes unintelligible. You might say it's unnecessary duplication... but think about all the time saved from having less linguistic & culture clashes... and all that energy that people could be merrily deploying in making a wiki in their preferred dialect?!

(P.S. I and people where I live call 'em AWE-BUH-ZHEENZ with the stress on the first syllable; "eggplant" would not compute up 'ere in the north of England... some odd tropical indoor pot plant from Homebase perhaps?) &quot;I&#39;m just some bloke off t&#39;inter&#39;&quot; (talk) 10:37, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Color
Isn't there also a dark purplish color called aubergine and/or eggplant? —Angr 13:57, 16 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Found it at Eggplant (color). —Angr 14:04, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

There are various sizes and colours of this plant. I am Chickasaw/Cherokee and Creole French. My people go a long, long, way back in the United States history. I have been a chef for many years for various restaurants when health permitted. All this to say that I have never heard eggplant called aubergine until today. I speak French, so I've heard the word, but never knew it was eggplant. No matter what you call it, you are basically playing at semantics. Cook a good recipe and figure out that it just doesn't matter. More people worldwide know it as eggplant, no matter the root origins. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.110.48.83 (talk) 22:50, 14 August 2008 (UTC)

Season?
When are aubergines in season? --Mathew5000 19:45, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Toxin
There is a sentence about toxicity in the history section. I have removed the recent contribution:


 * Raw eggplant contains the toxin solamine. Most of the nightshade family contain toxins in at least one part of the plan, but eggplants are noted for a high toxin quantity in the fruit. Solamine wont kill you, but it wont help you either. Besides this,

Because it was not sourced and contradicted current information. If anyone has a source for information on eggplant toxicity, this could help clear up the article. Until then, I have moved the new content here.-Andrew c 23:20, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

I think this page should be titled Aubergine. The aubergine was the original name for it. Because Americans / Canadians changed the word, that does not mean this should become the original name. It originated in Asia, and most Asians would refer to it as Aubergine when speaking English (most of the Indian subcontinent). So from a historical point of view and the majority of the English speaking world, I think it is reasonable to rename this page AUBERGINE —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.34.44.237 (talk) 18:41, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Turkish cuisine mention
The eggplant is used in cuisines from Japan to Spain. In particular, the Turkish cuisine is said to know one thousand recipes for preparing eggplant. It seems to me that this kind of comment is neither truthful nor helpful i.e. the French have in excess of 5 million recipes for salad - I mean, I'm just guessing, but it seems likely. Is it useful information? No. Can anyone quantify it? Also probably no. If the author of the comment was referring to the number of recipes contained in a 'standard' national cookery book or compendium of recipes, then he/she should quote it. But I doubt that is the case, so I removed that part of the entry. And no, I bear no grudges against Turkish people and indeed have no reason to, should this spark a flame war. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.198.40.202 (talk) 12:49, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Removed myth
NJ produces 2/3 of the world's eggplant - see www.pestmanagement.rutgers.edu/njinpas/CropProfiles/Eggplant2000data.pdf

This article needs a photo
An eggplant fruit cut in half. - SCEhard T 20:29, 10 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Done -- I created Image:Eggplant-sliced.jpg and added it to the article. Kit 08:19, 13 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks! 65.190.89.154 (talk) 08:30, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Nightshades
If potatoes are vegetables and tomatoes are fruits, how can the eggplant be closely related to both of them? --In Defense of the Artist 21:32, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Paprikas, chillis, tomatoes and aubergines derive from flowers thus are technically fruits, though normally regrded and used like vegetables, potatoes are tubers or roots thus vegetables, as are the leaves of ethiopian eggplants. All are relatives of nightshades, and the geen leafy parts of tomatoes and potatoes are mildly poisonous and unpleasant to eat as are "greened" potatoes. JDN —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.172.235 (talk) 19:29, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

A fruit is the swollen, impregnated ovary of a flower. A vegetable is a more general term referring to the rest of the plant. The distinction is not taxonomic.-- 13:18, 16 April 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.122.53.154 (talk)

are you cool
'but what is the nutritional value of an eggplant?????'


 * My understanding is that eggplants have very little nutritional value at all. They have a good amount of fiber, but little else . 128.197.81.223 21:25, 4 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Well, it could still be a healthy thing to eat, even without much nutritional value. Eggplant is frequently used as a substitute for meat, as in eggplant parmesan, instead of veal parmesan.  Thus, eggplant can lower your intake of bad fat and bad cholesterol.  This is similar to how water has almost no nutrients, but, if it keeps you from drinking pop, or even worse, diet pop, then it's quite a healthy thing to drink. StuRat 01:13, 19 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm sick of hearing stuff like this, it's ridiculous on several counts.


 * If you want to be taken seriously, I don't think terms like "bad fat" or "bad cholesterol" will work too well.
 * If you want to be taken seriously, try signing your comments rather than commenting anonymously. What's wrong with the terms "bad fat" and "bad cholesterol"? --In Defense of the Artist 21:32, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
 * Because they're real things? Is that why? Keep reaching for that online MD rainbow! 74.212.17.148 22:23, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

Eggfruit
I noticed recently that Cole's supermarkets (in Australia) list eggplant as 'eggfruit', or at least they do in my area. I was wondering if anyone else has seen eggplants called 'eggfruits' anywhere else and whether this alternate name should be mentioned in the article? Thanks, --Colourblind 02:06, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
 * No, but get a picture. That would be interesting to have in the article! --In Defense of the Artist 21:32, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Nicotine content
Is it true that eggplant contains a significant amount of nicotine? Badagnani 01:21, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
 * It seems it does! Look through the first few links on a Google search for "eggplant nicotine". For example, from an excellent study on breastfeeding and the use of alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and marijuana (I recommend glancing through this link): "avoid vegetables containing considerable amounts of nicotine - eggplant, green and pureed tomatoes and cauliflower. Ten grams of eggplant provides the same amount of nicotine obtained in three hours in a room with minimal tobacco smoke (Laurence 1985)."  (For the context of this sentence, realize that 10g is very small -- a typical eggplant portion is more like 100g.)  This link is very interesting, and I recommend it.  But to answer your question: eggplant certainly contains copious amounts of nicotine.  Tobacco is by far not the only plant to do so.

Let's get this added to the article, then. Badagnani 05:40, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

No. As per my calculations, if given .01mg of nicotine per 100g of eggplant, and the range nicotine content in cigarettes ranging from .8 to 1.3, then one would need to consume 20 pounds of eggplant in a single sitting to match the nicotine found in a single cigarette. I would call this nicotine content insignificant. WhoIsJohnGalt? 21:29, 5 June 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by JohnGaltJr (talk • contribs)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 20:31, 2 May 2016 (UTC)