By Richard Bernard

Unlike tomatoes, potatoes, and chile peppers its more famous cousins in the Nightshade family the eggplant originated in the Old World and has not become widely popular around the globe. However, whenever the eggplant has been adopted by a particular culture, it has remained a key ingredient in cooking habits, allowing unlimited inspiration in recipes. The eggplant has followed two distinct routes in its expansion: Eastward to the Far East, and Westward

Following the eggplants migration across fifteen centuries.

Gypsy Fruit

to Europe. China and Sri Lanka have become secondary centers of origin for the Eastward expansion. The Westward expansion has resulted in Spain becoming thecondary center of origin for the species expansion in the Occidental world. Its primary center of origin is in the arid state of Rajasthan in North Western India. This is where the Gypsies, also known as Romanies, started their odyssey sometime in the 6th century A.D. Legend says that the Romani people, a cast of musicians, angered the king who banned them and sent them wandering around the world. By the 14th century, they had reached Andalusia in Southern Spain.

The gypsies brought their music and dances on the way to Europe, deeply influencing styles such as the flamenco, belly dancing and jazz. They also brought with them the seeds of the eggplant, which was a staple ingredient in their diet. As they traveled and settled along their way, local populations adopted the new plant and have made their own selections.

Tourists enjoy the Asan Market in Kathmandu, where the bright calyx of the local eggplant is used to make aubergine curries and chutneys. ^

India

Our travel starts in India with a colorful egg-shaped fruit of a light green color streaked in purple, a variety called Udmalbet (the purplish streaking will remain a common feature in many future selections). Udmalbet is used in chutneys and curries. India has so many local varieties of eggplant that it would require a whole library to list and describe them. In fact, the variety Ud-malbet is named after a very old summer resort town in the highlands of Southern India, meaning that seeds had already traveled for hundreds of years from the northern region of Rajasthan down south.

Most of the varieties still to be found in India have a white flesh and are very spiny on the green clayx. One would think that a spineless variety would be easier to harvest and to handle for cooking, however prickliness is perceived in India as a sign of better organoleptic quality and nobody would buy an eggplant without spines on the stem and on the calyx.

SyriaThe Fertile Crescent in the Middle East became a major center of diversification for eggplant; this is where a lot of the different shapes, skin and flesh colors have been selected by the different under a variety of physical and cultural environments. Eggplant fruits can come in a lot of different shapes from round to oval to cylindrical; they can also take a lot of different colors and color patterns, from black to purple to white and from uniform to striped.

TurkeyNow, the eggplant had reached Constantinople and was just one step away from Europe across the Golden Gate. With the Christians and Mus-lims fighting over the region, the Gypsies were still entertaining both sides with their music and dances. The seeds of the eggplant made their way through unsettled times and places to the sound of the lute.

ItalyWe are now in the region of Tuscany in Northern Italy where the gypsies have enjoyed the abun-dance of the local rural life and have enriched it with this new vegetable, which was first called :the apple of the insane (melanzana); this also tells us that the Gypsies were suspect and not always welcome. Italy is where the eggplant met her cousin from the Old World: the tomato, first called the gold apple (pomodoro).

FranceThe Gypsies have settled in the delta of the Rhone River in Provence where they converted to a very particular form of Christianity and where they hold a yearly pilgrimage to the little Med-iterranean village of Saintes-Maries-De-La-Mer in honor of Saint Sara. Legend says that dark-skinned Saint Sara was the Egyptian servant of Mary Magdalena, Mary Salome and Mary Jacobe who were the first witnesses to the empty tomb at the resurrection of Christ. The three Marys fled to Alexandria in Egypt after the Crucifixion of Jesus and then set sail further towards the West and were cast adrift the coast of France at a lo-cation that became known as Notre-Dame-de-Ra-tis (Our Lady of the Boat) and later was changed into Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. A statue of Sara is in the crypt of the church, which also enclos-es a 4th century B.C. pagan altar. On May 24th each year, a procession of Gypsies from all over Europe carries the statue to the sea and back to the crypt.

SpainAndalusia is the European end of the Gypsies journey; there they finally found the hospitality of kings in their grandiose palaces of the Sultans of Granada and of Sevilla. In this cultural melting pot, they created a new musical style now called flamenco. A visit to the Palace of the Alhambra in Granada, and a thorough tour of the gardens will give you an idea of the sophistication of the gardening techniques inherited from the Moors. Interestingly, the famous Listada de Gandia eggplant, the furthest in distance, is the closest in shape, color and flavor to the original eggplant the Gypsies had carried in their pockets from India. It looks like the Gypsies managed to save some of the original seeds with very little varia-tion. From Spain, the eggplant crossed the ocean and arrived in the New World where it is still wait-ing to be fully adopted in American cooking.

Scroll to follow the eggplant across the Western world

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A Culinary Journey with the Romani

Tap the dots along the way to discover regional cuisine developed from the orginal Gypsy Fruit.

French Eggplant Ratatouille

From thekitchn.com Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 2 hoursServes 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS: 2 large eggplants 2 yellow onions 3 bell peppers 6-8 medium zucchini 4 large tomatoes 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons olive oil 3-4 cloves garlic

INSTRUCTIONS:1. Peel the eggplants and chop them into bite-sized cubes. Transfer them to a strainer and toss with a tablespoon of salt.

2. Dice the onions and roughly chop the peppers, zucchinis, and tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. Mince the garlic.

3. Warm a teaspoon of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Saute until the onions have softened and are just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the peppers and continue cooking until the peppers have also softened, about another 5 minutes.

4. Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot and saute the zucchini with a generous pinch of salt until the it has softened and is beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

5. Rinse the eggplant and squeeze the cubes gently with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Warm two teaspoons of oil in the pan and saute the eggplant until it has softened and has begun to turn translucent, about 10 minutes.

6. During cooking, a brown glaze will gradually build on the bottom of the pan. If it looks like this glaze is beginning to turn black and burn, turn down the heat to medium. You can also dissolve the glaze between batches by pouring 1/4 cup of water or wine into the pan and scraping up the glaze. Pour the deglazing liquid into the bowl with the vegetables.

7. Warm another teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and saute the garlic until it is starting to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, whole sprigs of thyme. As the tomato juices begin to bubble, scrape up the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan.

8. Add all of the vegetables into the pan and stir. Bring the stew to a simmer, then turn down the heat to low. Simmer for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs, stir in the basil. Sprinkle the extra basil and a glug of good olive oil over each bowl as you serve.

By Richard Bernard

Unlike tomatoes, potatoes, and chile peppers its more famous cousins in the Nightshade family the eggplant originated in the Old World and has not become widely popular around the globe. However, whenever the eggplant has been adopted by a particular culture, it has remained a key ingredient in cooking habits, allowing unlimited inspiration in recipes. The eggplant has followed two distinct routes in its expansion: Eastward to the Far East, and Westward to Europe. China and Sri Lanka have become secondary centers of origin for the Eastward expansion. The

Following the eggplants migration across fifteen centuries.

Gypsy Fruit

Westward expansion has resulted in Spain becoming thecondary center of origin for the species expansion in the Occidental world. Its primary center of origin is in the arid state of Rajasthan in North Western India. This is where the Gypsies, also known as Romanies, started their odyssey sometime in the 6th century A.D. Legend says that the Romani people, a cast of musicians, angered the king who banned them and sent them wandering around the world. By the 14th century, they had reached Andalusia in Southern Spain.

The gypsies brought their music and dances on the way to Europe, deeply influencing styles such as the flamenco, belly dancing and jazz. They also brought with them the seeds of the eggplant, which was a staple ingredient in their diet. As they traveled and settled along their way, local populations adopted the new plant and have made their own selections.

Tourists enjoy the Asan Market in Kathmandu, where the bright calyx of the local