Common eggplant is dark purple/black, 6”- 9” long. Fruit is firm, skin is smooth, glossy, free of marks, pits, or damage from insects, disease or handling. Eggplant is harvested at an immature stage.
Other varieties have variations in color (from black, white, and lavender, to striated purple and white), and form (long and narrow, short and wide).
A solanaceous crop, eggplants should have field heat removed quickly, store above 50°F at 90-95% RH for up to 14 days. Eggplant is subject to chilling injury below 50°.
Quality Specifications
Fruit is firm, skin is smooth, glossy, free of marks, pits, or damage from insects, disease or handling.
Common Quality Issues
Eggplant over 9” may be over mature. Seeds will be brown and hard if fruit is mature and is past marketability. Fruit becomes pithy and bitter at this stage.
Calyx should be fresh and green. A dull calyx is a sign of over-maturity and/or old product. Exposure to ethylene may result in calyx browning. Skin should be free of of scarring or damage.
Storing below 50°F may result in cold damage, which appears as pitting and bronzing of the skin, browning of tissue and seeds. Chilling injury is cumulative postharvest.
