The unsuspicious aubergine that populates our vegetable shelves is actually not vegetable but a berry. It forms part of the family of nightshades and is therefore related to the tomato and the potato. As opposed to other famous nightshade vegetables, aubergines do not originate in the Americas but were cultivated in South Asia before Arabian traders brought them to Europe.

Due to their tropical origin, aubergines do not keep well in the fridge as their interior is damaged by chilling. This internal structure consists of cells with many small air pockets. When heated, the air pockets collapse and the flesh consolidates. You can see how this looks like in practice by cooking one of our tasty recipes.