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County Market »
Address: 331 Stoughton Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 352-4123
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Strawberry Fields (Deli) »
Address: 306 W. Springfield Ave. Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 328-1655
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Common Ground Food Co-op »
Address: 300 S. Broadway Suite 166 Lincoln Square Mall Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 352-3347
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Although typically classified as a berry, eggplant is often cooked like a vegetable. Its bitter taste and spongy texture make it a great substitute for meat in vegetarian dishes such as eggplant parmesan, or it can simply be used as a side dish for a meal. Eggplant routinely appears in Indian food, stews or dips, such as baba ghanouj.

Eggplant ripens best in late summer, between August and October. It’s shaped like an oversized purple pear with a smooth texture like a tomato. When looking for ripe eggplants in the store or on the vine, make sure they are firm and heavy. If buying from a store, unwrap the plastic covering to let the eggplant breathe or else it will spoil quicker. If picking youself, then the connecting vine should be a healthy bright green. Eggplant can be bought before it completely matures — some recipes call for baby-sized eggplant.

To tell if an eggplant is ripe enough, press one with your thumb and if the indent pops back in place, the fruit is ripe. Bruising indicates the inside of the eggplant is spoiled. They are sensitive to temperature and bruising, so store carefully.

Here are some local places to grab your next meal pleaser:

County Market: Organic and fresh, eggplant sells here for $1.19/lb.

Strawberry Fields: The eggplant supply here fluctuates. Lately they’ve been missing, but when present they sell for $1.99/lb.

Common Ground Food Co-op: The produce here also varies day to day. When in stock, eggplant sells for $1.79/lb.

Tomahnous Farm: They locally grow and sell their eggplant at Urbana’s Farmer’s Market every Saturday.