Eggplant in the Sixth-Century Garden and Pot
ANCIENT MEALS · 072 / 100 Qimin yaoshu horticultural and culinary tradition · Northern China · c. 530–550 CE Evidence: adapted surviving recipe. The historical evidence and modern cooking choices are distinguished below. Jump to recipe Generated illustration of the modern recipe adaptation; not an archaeological photograph or an exact ancient reconstruction. A vegetable still changing The smooth, mild eggplants in many shops are products of a long history of selection. Ancient written evidence gives glimpses of fruit that did not necessarily look or taste the same. A botanical study of Chinese literature traces descriptions of eggplant cultivation and qualities through historical texts, including the sixth-century Qimin yaoshu . It reminds us that a named vegetable is not a frozen biological object across fifteen centuries. The manual offers more than advice for a garden. Its braised-eggplant entry calls for young fruit, dividing it, blanching it, heating oil with chopped scallion w...