Brinjal is also called eggplant. Its scientific name is called Solanum melongena. Chinese call it Qie2Zi3, and Malays call it Terung. A hypermarket in Ipoh named the fat one as eggplant and the smaller size one as terung or brinjal to differentiate their types. But actually eggplant is another name for brinjal and it means all types of brinjal.
We like to eat brinjals although it is a bit sticky like the ladies finger. The long shaped brinjal is the most common and can be easily found in Kuching where as the other types can hardly be seen here. We were excited when we saw so many types of brinjal in Ipoh. Same as what we did to different types of apple, we bought one or two brinjals for each type.
Brinjal contains small and soft seeds which are edible. Botanically the fruit of a brinjal plant is classified as a berry. When I did some research on wikipedia, I finally know that why I get addicted to it. It contains a very insignificant amount of nicotinoid alkaloids, and that is why it tastes a bit bitter. Do not worry too much about this because you need about 9kg of brinjal to have the same amount of nicotine as a cigarette. No one is going to eat 9kg of brinjal within a day.
On the other hand, Brinjal is effective in the treatment of high blood cholesterol. It is also a source of folic acid and potassium.
[The raw fruit can have a somewhat bitter taste, but becomes tender when cooked and develops a rich, complex flavor. Salting and then rinsing the sliced brinjal (known as “degorging”) can soften and remove much of the bitterness. Some modern varieties do not need this treatment, as they are less bitter. The brinjal is capable of absorbing large amounts of cooking fats and sauces, allowing for very rich dishes, but the salting process will reduce the amount of oil absorbed. The fruit flesh is smooth; as in the related tomato, the numerous seeds are soft and edible along with the rest of the fruit. The thin skin is also edible, so that the brinjal need not be peeled.] – quoted from Wikipedia. :p
A fat brinjal labeled as eggplant in a hypermarket.
They are labeled as Terung Bulat which means Round-Shaped Brinjal.
Small White Eggplant.
Terung Merah-KG (Red Brinjal). I don’t know what does it mean by KG, can you tell me?
Short Brinjal.
Long Brinjal or Terung Panjang.
This are the price tags for the brinjals above.
Even they are all brinjals but each of them has different shape and colour. Just like human, even all of us are human but we have different colours of skin and eyes. Basically everybody is the same.
