Sweet Red

Solanum aetheopicum. Ethiopian eggplant, aka tomato-fruited eggplant. Good flavor, moderately sweet. The texture is creamy. Fruit are small and egg shaped, growing to the size of a ping pong ball. Dark with a light green netted pattern. White flesh. Fruit born in clusters of up to 6. Fruit red when seed mature. Non-pigmented green plants, without spines. Plants highly branched, especially at the base of the main stem. All branches and the stem grow vertically. Dark green, hairy leaves. White flowers. Late maturing. Not particularly productive when grown at Heritage Farm in 2018. Donated to SSE by the late Suzanne Ashworth, SSE member and the author of "Seed to Seed." She received this variety from Cue Vang, a 6th grade Hmong student, while Suzanne was working at the Pacific Elementary School in Sacramento, CA in the late 1960’s. According to Suzanne, Cue Vang enjoyed boiling the eggplants for about 6 minutes, mashing them in a mortar and pestle, and then eating it as a dip. SSE Accession # 109482