If I had to give this growing season a name, it would be The Year of the Eggplant. We have had an amazing harvest- which means we have been eating a lot of meals using eggplant. It also means there is a lot left over to preserve.
Due to its dense nature, it is not recommended that you can eggplant at home. So how do you preserve eggplant?
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Looking for how to store fresh eggplant? Learn how to store fresh eggplant for the best results.
How to Preserve Eggplant
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Preserving Eggplant by Freezing:
There are a few ways to go about freezing your eggplant but the basic steps are to peel, cook, and freeze. Frozen eggplant will defrost some what mushier, similar to zucchini. Under the correct conditions they will last at least a year with out a change in quality.
Option 1: Roasted Eggplant
To freeze roasted eggplant you want to peel your eggplant and cut them in half or in rounds and roast at 400* for about 30 minutes. Allow the slices to cool, then simply place them in your container or freezer bag.
Freezing roasted eggplant is a good option if you enjoy dishes that are prepared by roasting the vegetable first- such as Baba Ganoush or my vegetarian eggplant balls.
Want to preserve MORE food this year? Get my Food Preservation Planner to help you plan your family’s food needs and save time by helping you preserve more efficiently!
Option 2: Blanched Eggplant
To freeze blanched eggplant, peel and slice your vegetables and then place them in boiling water for 4 minutes.
Transfer them to an ice bath until completely cool.
Drain well before placing in your container.
I have quite a few bags of sliced and blanched Ping Tung Eggplant in the freezer to make Eggplant Crisp later in the year.
Option 3: Sliced and Breaded Eggplant
If you like to make Eggplant Parmesan, you can make the breaded and fried slices ahead of time and freeze them so that you can make this dish all year long.
Simply bread and fry your eggplant slices, allow them to cool and place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Then transfer them to a freezer safe container. When you are ready to eat, simply take out the amount of slices you need and continue on in the recipe.
Preserving Eggplant by Dehydration:
You can use your oven on it’s lowest setting or an electric dehydrator to dehydrate your eggplant. Make sure it is completely dry before storing to prevent spoiling.
You can store the dehydrated eggplant in the freezer or in the pantry. There are a lot of options when it comes to dehydrating, such as:
Check out the Ultimate Dehydrator Buying Guide to help you decided which dehydrator will work for your needs!
- Dehydrate 1/2 in slices plain until crispy. Boil in water for 5 minutes to rehydrate and use in recipes such as Moussaka
- Use a mandolin to slice 1/4 in. slices of eggplant. Sprinkle with your choice of spices (salt, pepper, garlic, onion, etc.) and dehydrate for eggplant chips
- Marinate eggplant slices before dehydrating to make a jerky- such as Eggplant Bacon.
- Cut eggplant in 1 inch cubes and dehydrate. Use them in soups and stews.
If you are looking for a good dehydrator, I LOVE my Excalibur 9-Tray Dehydrator. If you don’t need one quite so big they also come in 4 or 5-tray options!
Many dishes using eggplant also freeze well. We like to keep a bag of the vegetarian eggplant meatballs in the freezer for an easy lunch. So if you have a favorite recipe try freezing a portion and see how it reheats.
More Dehydrating and Preserving Articles:
5 Ways to Preserve Cherry Tomatoes
6 Ways to Preserve Green Beans
I never even thought of hydration! Great idea!
I have never thought of dehydrated eggplants either. Eggplant chips with my salsa would taste amazingly good, I think ;). I need to try it.
I’ve never even cooked eggplant, but these ideas have sparked my interest in this beautifully colored vegetable. I just might have to give eggplant a try. :)
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Thanks for sharing such a great tutorial at the HomeAcre Hop!
Hope you join us again!
Sandra
I love eggplant! I had no idea there were so many options for freezing. Actually I didn’t even know eggplant could even be frozen. Thank you for sharing!
Stopping by from the “Creative Home and Garden” hop. Following you on G+, Twitter, and Facebook. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
Have a great week :)
Bismah @
Simple Mama
Thanks for these helpful tips on ways to preserve eggplant. I have not tried this before, so now I know what to do with the leftover eggplant from my father’s garden. Glad I found your blog on Thank Goodness Its Monday!
I never dried drying it. Maybe next year I will go some and try.
add lemon juice to boiling water to prevent discoloration
Is it completely necessary to peel the eggplant before blanching and freezing? I LOVE the skin! I have 15 eggplant that I have pulled out of my garden in the last 3 days and want to preserve some for winter. I wish canning was an option but it looks like I will be freezing it.
I am sure it is fine to leave the peel on. It might toughen up a little but I don’t think it would hurt anything. Freezing makes eggplant kind of mushy so how you freeze will depend on what you plan to do with it once thawed.
To preserve my eggplant I use a method I discovered in Cook’s Illustrated for preparing eggplant for firmness, like for parmesan or a casserole. Salt the eggplant and put it on paper towels in the microwave. 8-10 minutes, moving occasionally, will give you dry pieces that will not soak up tons of oil, and lends a meaty texture.
On a hunch, I froze some, and it thawed out perfectly, ready for parmesan.
Who knew, a legitimate reason to use the nuker.
I have skipped the salting and nuking by partially drying in the oven. Not quite leathery still firm but without as much moisture. I have done 8-10 minutes in the air fryer at the lowest temp also. Then when thawed out it isn’t mushy perfect as you have described in your method for Parmesan.
I have grilled my eggplants to a creamy consistency , cooled and tossed in the food processor and spread the goo on dehydrator sheets, like a fruit rollup mix. Once dry, I processed again into a rough flour and saved in glass jars. Use in place of flour or breadcrumbs for a more nutritious liquid absorber. I add it to soups and sauces too. It’s really useful and adds grilled flavor.
Did you season the eggplant with olive oil, cayenne, salt and pepper before grilling?
I’m thinking I will use this eggplant flour instead of regular organic flour.
I make a zucchini pizza crust by shredding the zucchini in a food processor, place in a pillow case and wring it out like a towel. Add 1 egg, a handful of flour, onion and cheese then flatten it on a baking sheet and bake until crisp. Flip it and bake the other side until crisp and then add your pizza toppings. We use tomato sauce from our garden, fresh basil and eggplant, and garlic all from our garden. If we’re in the mood for meat we add chorizo made by a local rancher using organically raised pork.
I like to use parchment paper on the baking sheets so that it does not stick.
I have done something similar with cauliflower. It is AMAZING :)
Do you store in the fridge or? Also, how long will it keep?
I planted Rosa Bianca on one of my Hugelkultur beds this year. Bumper crop!. Rosa Bianca is a lovely mild, non bitter, delicious medium size lavender eggplant. No need to salt it or peel it when it is fresh. I think I will try the drying and the freezing methods. Wonder if I should peel it?
So glad I found this site. Thanks everyone for all the good tips.
I made the jerky, what is the best way to store it – in a plastic bag at room
If you are dehydrating, I recommend peeling, because the skins do NOT shrink!
Can you use frozen egg plant to make egg plant parm?
If you want to use it for eggplant parm, you’d want to use option 3 under freezing. Bread it and fry it fresh and then freeze those slices for making the dish later.
I peal, slice and soak in a little salt water then put on cookie sheet and freeze. When ready to Use, bread it while still a little frozen and drop into moderately hot oil. Be careful, if oil is too hot it will pop
A lot of sites say you should blanch first. Do you do that or just slice and dehydrate?
Thank you!
I tried fermenting eggplant this year. Not bad.
I just received my fermenting kit and am ready to start fermenting my harvest. I am overloaded with ichiban eggplant. Have you fermented that ? Looking for recipes and ideas.
Just found your website. Thank you so much for sharing! We’re new to farming on our 1 acre plot and my husband tends to go all out with his interests :) We have SOOO much eggplant, peppers, pie pumpkins and tomatoes. We started last year learning canning and preserving. We’ve made over 50 quarts of tomato sauce so far this year and there’s still so much more out there. :) Love your ideas on eggplant. Will be perusing your site for more info! Again, thank you so very much for your insight and info!
Live well!
Traci
I plan to do 1/2 frozen and 1/2 dehydrated. Thanks for the tips on preserving.
do u know of any recipes of how to fix eggplant salad in low carb and low calorie my cholesterol is to high
Hi. I am new to dehydrating food. When you say completely dry, does that mean that it will be dry and crispy? Or will it still have some gumminess and give to it? I’ve found that my dried squashes and eggplants still have a give and are not completely crisp and brittle. Was wondering what was normal. Thanks.