(JNi.media) One of the frustrating challenges faced by eggplant lovers is removing the seeds which add bitterness to the fruit. Unfortunately, along with the removed seeds, you often lose part of the juicy eggplant meat. Enter the Ein Yahav farmers, who have just released a new variety of eggplant which will put an end to digging inside it — voila, the seedless eggplant.
The new variety has an outstandingly attractive appearance, with a fine structure and glossy black color. It is heavier than other varieties, about one pound per fruit, since it is packed with no empty interior space, unlike most other eggplants. In fact, eggplant lovers who have become accustomed in the past to staying away from the large eggplant, because it has more seeds, will be able to come back and enjoy these big guys.
The new Ein Yahav eggplant grows through natural fertilization. Its shelf life is much longer, as much as two weeks, so it’s perfectly possible to keep it in the kitchen between shopping days and cook or fry them without fear of spoilage (within reason, of course).
Other Israeli farmers and biologists have attempted to market seedless eggplants in the past, but they were too small and too slim and did not gain popularity.
The Ein Yahav Eggplant will be marketed with a special “Seedless” tag in retail chains and vegetable stores.
Moshav Ein Yahav is located in the Arava desert, 120 miles south of Jerusalem. It is the largest agricultural cooperative village in Israel today, with 120 active member farms. Most of the farms grow winter vegetables such as melon, red, yellow, orange, and bright green pepper, greenhouse tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, watermelon, mango and, of course, eggplant.
According to the moshav website, “the water we use for irrigation is only from local pumping, with a relatively high salinity … which contributes directly to the quality and unique flavor of our vegetables. We keep a clean and ‘green’ work environment from the field to the customer. We grow in our fields only 11 months a year, which is intended to prevent diseases from passing from season to season. We all use growing methods that reduce the use of pesticides to a minimum by any global standard. And 100% of our produce is grown in greenhouses, net houses and plastic tunnels.”
