Todd said:
Hi All,

With my black thumb, my two eggplants are probably
half normal size. So I can't judge when to pick
based on size from the grocery store.

I got 7 pretty fruits a growing on the two plants
and more of those heart stopping beautiful flowers
too.

I do not want them too tough that I can't eat the
skins. Wonderful nutrition in the skins.

Is there any indicator, other than size, I should look
for when they are ready for the pan?

If you wait for them to be as big as the ones you see in
the store, or for them to start losing their glossiness, you
have waited too long. Any eggplant that is not firm and
glossy is too far gone.

Picking them sooner rather than later means they will
have few seeds and shouldn't need to be 'sweated' with
salt to remove bitterness.

I prefer them when you can easily wrap a hand around
them (the oval types) or even smaller. The long, thin
Asian ones, no more than eight inches.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

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