This year was better for eggplant than last – at least something enjoys the heat. As I’ve mentioned numerous times in the past, I pick what I plant in part based on looks, and eggplant was no different. Why just have a plain purple when you can get something even more beautiful? Listada de Gandia and Rosa Bianca are French and Italian heirloom varieties, respectively, and both make for a lovely harvest. Of course, the colors don’t hold up well to cooking, but they sure look nice when they get picked.

I planted both of these last year as well and got a grand total of zero fruits off of about seven plants, so I’ve been waiting a while to see something, and they haven’t disappointed. The flavor is not really any different (but then, I’m not an eggplant connoisseur), the skins are thin enough to leave on for cooking, and they add that nice semi-meaty texture to whatever they’re cooked with. I’m not sure how they’d compare production-wise with a newer hybrid, but for our purposes, six plants have produced plenty. These are keepers!