The Spaniards in the 16th century called eggplant or "berengenas", the "apples of love", while botanists of northern Europe called this species in the same period as the "mad apple", as they thought that when eating this fruit, a person would become mentally insane. In the era of mysticism, in medieval Europe people thought it had remarkable properties as a love potion.
Eggplants are originally from India, probably from Assam and Burma, places that played a major role as plant centers. At the same time, in China there was another type of eggplant, smaller than the one we actually know. Although cultivated in India, China and adjacent areas from remote prehistory, eggplants were known to the Western World no more than 1, 500 years ago. The lack of ancient Greek and Roman names makes historians think that it was carried into the Mediterranean area by the Arabs in the Dark Ages or early Middle ages. However, the first record found talks about a Chinese eggplant in the 5th century after Christ. The next oldest records date from the 9th, 10th, and 12th centuries.
The Moors carried the plant to Spain, where it was known in the 12th century or earlier. In northern Europe it was first mentioned by Albert of Cologne in the 13th century, but not until the middle of the 16th century it became well- known.
Yellow and purple varieties were introduced into Germany from Naples in 1550. Fifty years later, white and brown varieties, including round, preshaped and long- fruited kinds, were known throughout Europe.
The eggplant was introduced into America by the Spaniards. It was started to be grown in Brazil before 1650, thanks to the tropical climate and in the United States, purple and white varieties were described in 1806.
The Eggplant is the only member of the Deadly Nightshade family to originate in the Easter Hemisphere ad it was introduced in the Americas until recent years due to its association to Nightshade.
Since its beginning, it was domestically produced and was used in many local dishes. It carries on being in a wide range of dishes in Burma and Indian regions. In China, by 500 B.C it became a culinary favorite to generations of Chinese emperors. However, a Chinese scholar of that time says that Eggplant became popular among all classes of Chinese people and that´s why they developed their own unique varieties.
During the colonization process of the Spaniards, the Eggplant was very respected as they believed it had powerful aphrodisiac consequences. Thomas Jefferson was the one who introduced them to the United States in 1806 thanks to a French friend. Even today, they are grown in Jefferson´s preserved Virginia Harden at Monticello. Jefferson was not only a politician but a legendary horticulturist.
People forget today the mysterious superstition that eggplant caused during the Middle Ages and the discussion is centered today in the health benefits and possible culinary uses. People in Europe, thought for ages that the Eggplant or "Mad Apple", had mystical properties thanks to the odd shape and color.
Louis XIV King of France, took great interest in using eggplant to impress in diners at his royal table and he introduced it into his garden. However, at the beginning it did not enrapture the Kings guest. It was seen as a large fruit with bad qualities as there was the urban legend that eating eggplant caused fever and epilepsy. During the Enlightenment era, it was very much appreciated at the Palais Royale.
Until 1950, it was considered in many countries like the US as an ornamental plant.
In 2005, it was released the comic film directed by Mike Stoklasa called Oranges: Revenge of the Eggplant. The film tells a tale of action, adventure and revenge. "After rescuing the president in Bananastan, Dr. Sunkyst decides to retire from an 80 year long career as an action scientist. However, Sunkyst is recruited to take over as the new college professor at the Orange university shortly after his retirement. Sunkyst befriends three students, Jessica - an intelligent stripper, Jerome - an angry apple who mistrusts oranges, and Erik - a dim witted frat guy who is easily bossed around. Sunkyst's presence at the school eventually causes numerous deaths and lots of action and adventure because we soon discover an evil force from his past is lurking on campus planning revenge".
Finally, in the famous paintings of the italian painter Guisseppe Arcimboldo, the eggplant plays a central role as one of the exotic fruits and rare specimens. Despite corn and eggplants came from the New World and Asia respectively, for 1591 Arcimboldo already knows about the existence of them in order to compose a modern surrealist painting.
Vertumnus, 1591
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