Everybody knows that aubergines/eggplants can have a bitter taste when cooked, especially those that are not so fresh.
Many of you already know that to remove the bitterness you just have to cut aubergine/eggplant in pieces (as desired), put them skin side down in a colander and sprinkle evenly with some salt. After 30 minutes and after being rinsed, aubergine/eggplant pieces are ready to be cooked, but remember to omit salt in the cooking process.
Another option, that maybe not all of you are aware of, is to soak pieces of aubergine/eggplant in milk for 30 minutes (at the end discard the milk that will be browned by the aubergine/eggplant juices).
I usually choose the second trick because I can control the saltiness and every bit of aubergine/eggplant is affected by the anti-bitterness process.
Do you know any other trick to remove the bitterness from aubergine/eggplant? Please, let me know!
This is genius – so many people don’t know how to remedy this!
Ilaria, Through osmosis, getting rid of the water in the eggplant gets rid of its bitterness. Salt draws moisture out and another trick would be to freeze the eggplant slices for a few hours, thaw then squeeze the juice out with towels. This would be a longer approach but uses no salt.
Thanks BarFly for explaining better about the osmosis process, I forgot to mention it.
About the freezing, yes it would take too much time so I will continue with the milk trick đ but thank you for adding it!
The perfect solution from the other side of the Adriatic: forget about the milk, the salt, the towels! Just liberally stab aubergine slices with a fork on both sides and let them dry for about half an hour. Bitter B Gone.
I was actually hoping to find the perfect recipe for Melanzane alla Parmigiana, but I see you guys are still struggling with the bitterness…
Igor, thanks for your suggestion!
Good point about Melanzane alla Parmigiana, it would be one of the recipes added to the to-do list, thanks for passing by!