If you prepare to cook eggplant and cut it open, you may notice seeds inside. The next natural question is can you eat the eggplant seeds, or should you deseed the eggplant?
This is an excellent question; yes, you can eat the eggplant seeds, but the next question is, do you really want to? Just know that when you cut open the eggplant and see seeds, it doesn’t mean your eggplant has gone bad.
There are quite a few misconceptions about eggplant seeds. One of the first misconceptions is that eggplant seeds are poisonous. They are not!
I think this comes from confusion about not eating the eggplant leaves and assumptions passed down over generations.
Eggplant seeds will not ruin your meal. It is true that eggplant seeds can have a bitter taste or at least a slightly bitter taste, but depending on the seed’s color and the eggplant’s age, it likely won’t have that much impact on the overall texture of your dish.
With those misconceptions out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of eggplant seeds.
Yes, you can eat eggplant seeds. However, you may want to know a couple of things. First, eggplant seeds can be bitter, but their level of bitterness is not generally overpowering. Second, they have a crunch, adding some texture to the dish.
So while you can eat eggplant seeds, the real question is whether you want to eat them. To help you figure this out, compare the seeds of eggplants to the seeds of a watermelon. There is a common misconception that you can’t eat black watermelon seeds. You can eat them but probably won’t enjoy them; most people don’t.
With eggplant seeds, you can eat the white seeds, and you can also eat the brown seeds. When doing this, you likely will barely notice that you are eating the white seeds of the eggplant because they are soft and not very bitter.
On the other hand, if you eat the brown seeds from the eggplant, they may be a bit more bitter and have a more rigid texture. While eating those brown seeds from eggplant is perfectly fine, they may not taste all that wonderful.
As with many things, all of this really varies based on the age of the eggplant. It is possible that you will eat the brown seeds and not be bothered by them at all. Since there is no harm in eating either the white or brown seeds, I recommend trying a dish with them in it and then deciding for yourself.
Taste and texture
The taste and texture of eggplant seeds vary depending on whether they are white or brown.
About the white eggplant seeds
White seeds do not tend to have a strong taste and texture. White eggplant seeds are often described as being slightly nutty or even bland. White eggplant seeds tend to be soft and a bit spongy.
You won’t really notice them when eating eggplant. I would compare them to the white seeds in a cucumber. You know that the seeds are there, but they are just part of the experience of eating the cucumber. I personally wouldn’t bother with removing the white seeds from an eggplant.
About the brown eggplant seeds
Brown eggplant seeds tend to have a slightly bitter taste to them. The texture of brown eggplant seeds is a bit gritty and tends to have a slight crunch.
People think they should remove the brown seeds from an eggplant, but it isn’t necessary. Even though they have a bit of grit and a slightly bitter taste, you probably won’t notice them all that much.
Whether to remove the brown seeds from eggplants depends on your preference.
The bottom line
You can eat the seeds inside an eggplant but may not want to do so depending on the circumstances or your taste preferences. Since it is perfectly safe to eat eggplant seeds, I recommend trying a dish with them in it and deciding for yourself. So now you can feel confident about going to the store and choosing eggplants from the produce section.