How To Preserve Eggplant Correctly
If you’d like to preserve your fresh eggplant vegetable, there is one easy way. Cut it into rounds about 1 inch thick. Place the eggplant rounds onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool them down and freeze them with wax paper in between.
Start by slicing the eggplant into slices about 1/2-3/4″ thick (slicing perpendicular to the length of the eggplant). Put the eggplants in a dehydrator and let them dry for four to six hours at 140-145 degrees. Season eggplant chips with spices and olive oil. Place slices on dryer trays and dry for four to five hours.
Then place the eggplant on a clean baking sheet and season the eggplant with the oil of your choice (mine prefers olive oil). When the jars are almost full, press down firmly and pour in the olive oil, making sure the eggplant is not above the oil level. Once the jar is open, refrigerate and continue decorating the sliced eggplant strips with butter if not completely covered. Arrange the eggplants in jars, packing well and adding more oil if there is an air gap.
Pour in enough oil to cover the eggplant, but not so much that the oil reaches the lid. Remember to always put leftover eggplants in a jar and always cover with oil. Check after 2-3 days to make sure no topping is needed as the eggplant will absorb some of the olive oil and the jar may need to be refilled.
After 8 hours, drain the liquid (but do not rinse the eggplant) and squeeze out excess moisture as much as possible. Throw the sliced eggplant strips into a colander and, as the day before, weigh them for another 2-3 hours so that the white vinegar drains. After 2-3 hours, transfer the eggplants to a large bowl and mix with white vinegar.
Transfer the eggplant/vinegar/water/seasoning mixture to a one-litre or two half-litre jars. Peel and cut the eggplant into thin slices, do this one at a time, after cooking one place the sliced eggplant in a glass bowl and season with 1 teaspoon of salt, continue with each eggplant. Then quickly remove the eggplant from the water and refrigerate with ice or cold water.
| Storage Place | Shelf life |
| Refrigerator | 5-7 days |
| Freezer | 8 months |
| Airtight container | 3-5 days |
Place the plate on top of the eggplant again and weigh it down for another 24 hours. Then peel the whole eggplant and cool the puree to room temperature before placing it in a container or freezer bag. Just bread and fry the eggplant slices, let them cool and place in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once cool, arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on a baking sheet/cookie tray so they don’t stick together when frozen.
Fill a large pot with water, add vinegar, bring to a boil, and blanch the eggplant slices for 2 minutes. When the water boils, blanch the eggplant slices in a large saucepan for four minutes. In a large saucepan, bring water and white wine vinegar to a boil, add eggplant and continue to cook 8-10 minutes or until tender.
After boiling, submerge eggplants in water and boil for about 3/4 minutes (7). Add a very thinly sliced garlic clove (10) to the eggplants and let sit for 30 minutes to season them evenly.
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Squeeze the water out of the eggplant again, then add the eggplant, oil of your choice, and 1 1/4 cups vinegar to a bowl. Then take a handful of eggplant strips at a time and squeeze with your hands to squeeze out as much water as possible. If you plan to use pureed eggplant as a sauce, cook it first, then freeze the pulp.
If you are going to use eggplant for soup or sauce (like Baba Ganoush) in the future, it makes sense to mix it before freezing. If you want to use fully cooked eggplants as an ingredient in future meals, roasting is a great way to prepare them for freezing. In fact, eggplants can be frozen in the same pan they were fried in. If you are planning on using frozen eggplants to make sauces, sauces, and other types of toppings, you can easily blend them together and then freeze them.
If you like to make eggplant parmesan with eggplant, or if you like to bake or fry it, blanching and freezing are a great option. If you like to make eggplant parmesan, you can freeze the breaded and fried slices ahead of time so you can make this dish year-round. Depending on what you’re using the eggplant for, you can either remove the eggplant directly from the refrigerator or thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
If you want to use it for sauces, prick whole eggplants with a fork and bake them whole on a baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees until they are completely soft. Roast one or more eggplants at 200°C for 30-40 minutes or until tender on the inside. To freeze fried eggplants, peel the eggplants, cut them in half or slices, and bake at 400* for about 30 minutes.
If you’re interested in How To Preserve Green Chillies, take a look at my other article.
To freeze blanched eggplants, peel and cut the vegetables, then place them in boiling water for 4 minutes. You can simply chop raw eggplants and put them in the freezer, but they will only last about 3 months (if you do this, don’t defrost before using). Salt the eggplant ahead of time to release the water and eliminate the bitterness, cook them until they are completely soft, and you have soft and tender slices that can be eaten with grilled bread, on top of yogurt, in a sandwich or along with lamb or grilled hen.
How Do you Store Eggplant Long term?
You can refrigerate eggplants by wrapping them in a paper towel and putting them in a penetrate plastic bag or a reusable container in your refrigerator’s crisper section for 5 – 7 days. For storing longer, eggplant can be blanched and frozen for up to six months.
What can I do with too many eggplants?
Pan-fried (or grilled, roasted, or broiled) eggplant slices can be packed with ricotta or any other cheeses, rolled, and baked into involtini with tomato sauce. Marinade and microwave halved Chinese (or any long, thin kind) eggplants until soft.
Why is eggplant not good for you?
The nightshade family includes eggplants. Nightshades contain alkaloids that can be harmful, notably solanine. Solanine shields these plants while they grow. Consuming the foliage or tubers of these plants can cause symptoms such as throat burning, nausea and vomiting, and cardiac rhythms.