Rotonda Bianca Sfumata di Viola

Its long Italian name means "Round White with Smoke of Purple" which is a great description of the fruit! This beautiful eggplant, typically just a bit larger than a grapefruit, has tender, sweet flesh and seeds that you don't notice when you are eating it. It is excellent for slicing into rounds for grilling, topped with tomato sauce and provolone cheese! Add salt to squeeze and dry it a bit for firmer texture to use as a meat substitute or in Asian cuisine, such as our favorite dish, Yu Xiang Eggplant. It also makes a creamy Baba Ganoush! Start these in early February indoors, since they take a LONG time until first fruits are ready to harvest. Typically they produce several eggplants per plant. Stake them, because they get heavy. Cut a few fruits early to stagger production from several plants or you will have too many at once, then none until the next round. I let the fruit rot on the vine (turns yellow, then brown) to ensure I collect truly viable seed (and it is easier that way, too.) This variety gets flea beetles early on, but recovers without any help. I participated in an SSE home trial of several veggies in 2021 - this is the only one I still make a point of growing!