Eggplant dishes are featured on tables and menus from Istanbul to SanFrancisco. Every Turkish cook worth his or her salt has a special eggplantrecipe or two hidden in an apron pocket somewhere. The most adaptable ofall vegetables, eggplants work well as meze or salad, but can also be simmeredinto soups, main dishes, and even desert. Some interesting facts on theversatile vegetable follow; watch next TAAC newsletter for some recipesthat just may come as a surprise.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS

Our own patl}can is called aubergine in England and France, melanzanein Italy, and badimjan in Persia. Its nicknames have included 'guinea squash,''Jew's apple,' and 'apple of love.' In the Caribbean, a small, pale greenversion with darker green streaks bears the curious name of susumber.

But an eggplant by any name still rates as the world's most versatilevegetable. In California, we can find a number of varieties on local supermarketshelves, right next to the tomatoes and potatoes, with which the eggplantshares the dubious family tree of nightshade.

It is interesting that, though eggplants have no protein of their own,they are often used as a meat substitute. This could be because they areso filling and economical, especially when combined with cheese and eggsto up their nutritional capacity. With a good fiber content, the vegetable'staste is almost potato-like in its plain state, taking on the flavor ofwhatever it is cooked with. Firm and almost crispy when poached, soft andpliant when fried, and creamy when baked or grilled, eggplant finds itsway into everything from casseroles to purees. The vegetable is naturallylow in calories and has no cholesterol or fat content before cooking.

INTERNATIONAL HISTORY

Native to Southeast Asia, where it was first grown as an ornamentalplant, the eggplant's first recorded use as a food was in India. In thefourth century, the eggplant conquered the Arabian Peninsula, where itwas called 'egg fruit' because early varieties resembled hens' eggs incolor and shape.

China wasn't far behind in discovering the vast possibilities of theuseful vegetable. During the fifth century, Chinese took the skins of blackish-purpleeggplants to make a cosmetic dye that was used to give their teeth thegleam of burnished metal. In the thirteenth century, the Italian city-statesof Pisa, Genoa, and Venice imported the eggplant from the East along withthe Indian spices that served to extend the vegetable's mysteriously exoticreputation.

Meanwhile, in Medieval Europe, eggplants were being used in love potionsand were said to be an aphrodisiac. Called 'melainsana,' or mad apple,eating them was thought to produce that most divine madness -- love.

The Turkish love affair with eggplant is a long one. Sixteenth centuryOttoman Turkish cookbooks featured upwards of 140 recipes using the popularvegetable. Eggplant continued its westward migration in 1806, when Spainand Portugal exported it to their respective New World colonies.

CURRENT POPULARITY

Today, eggplant is especially well-known in the gardens and marketsof the Mediterranean, where it has attained the status of 'poor man's meat'in Italy. In the Middle East, it is one of the staples of kitchens fromMarrakech to Mecca. An Arabian bride's dowry can be determined by the numberof eggplant dishes she knows how to cook. One hundred qualifies her asa Sultan's wife; 50 could net her a wealthy businessman; and with only25, she might have to settle for a common vegetable vendor.

In the Middle East and in Europe, as in Turkey, eggplants are typicallysmall and elongated, coming in various shades from lilac to deep midnight.Here in the United States, large purple ovoids have long been available,though today the smaller varieties are also easily found. Other varietiesinclude the white oriental kind and baby green eggplant. Eggplants areavailable all year round and can be grown anywhere the winters are mild.The plants take four months from seed to germination to mature fruit.

CHOOSING AND PREPARATION TIPS

When choosing an eggplant, look for taut skin and a sleek, shiny surfacefree from blemishes or wrinkles. Those with smooth, not shriveled or brokenskin, are the best and the freshest. When buying eggplants, allow one mediumglobe eggplant (about 1-1/2 pounds) for four-to-six servings. Eggplantsstore best at cool room temperature, around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Storein a dry place where the vegetables do not touch. Best when purchased closeto cooking time, eggplants can be rinsed and dried, then wrapped individuallyin paper towels before resting for a few days in the vegetable bin of therefrigerator.

Eggplants can be prepared with or without their skins. lf the vegetableis baked for a little over an hour, the skin becomes edible and may beretained. When cooking eggplants for a shorter time, it is better to peelthem first. Different varieties taste imperceptibly the same and are interchangeablein recipes. A general rule of thumb is to use the smaller, longer versionsfor stuffing or pickling, and the larger kind for slicing or cubing inrecipes calling for deep frying, sauteeing, or stewing.

Eggplants contain a slightly bitter liquid. This can be removed in severalways. The most common is to salt and drain the peeled, cut-up eggplantfor at least 30 minutes, then rinse well under cool water and pat dry.To retain the vegetable's shape for stuffing, parboil it whole. Or broilthe entire eggplant until its skin is almost charcoal for a unique smokytaste. Soaking salted and drained eggplant pieces in milk keeps them fromabsorbing too much oil during frying.

The eggplant can be souffled, stuffed, sauteed, fried, boiled, baked,broiled -- and is excellent both hot and cold. Its flavor changes to accommodatethe other ingredients with which it is cooked. Watch the next TAAC newsletterfor some recipes sure to surprise and delight eggplant lovers everywhere.