Are you looking for new eggplant varieties to try? I found information today on Burpee’s new “Meatball” eggplant that looks promising. If you love a thick, hearty eggplant that can substitute for meat in recipes, this one looks like a keeper.
New Eggplant Varieties to Try: Meatball by Burpee
For those looking at new eggplant varieties, Burpee seed and plant company doesn’t disappoint. The company always has interesting plants to try and this year is no exception. “Meatball” is a sweet eggplant with thick flesh that’s perfect for slicing and grilling.
This year, a new variety is available that could change the way you view eggplant forever. ‘Meatball’ is the first sweet-tasting eggplant variety that features a dense, meaty flesh that is flavorful and free of bitterness.
“Not since Burpee’s introduction of ‘Black Beauty’ in 1904 has eggplant been so transformed,” said George Ball, CEO and Chairman of W. Atlee Burpee & Company. “‘Meatball’ will convert the unconverted to loving eggplant.”
‘Meatball’ is a heavy yielding eggplant hybrid that produces hefty 5-inch dark, round fruit all summer long. The flesh of ‘Meatball’ eggplant is moist and very versatile. Try cooking and shaping it into meatballs, or grilling it as a healthy steak or hamburger substitute.
Plant your ‘Meatball’ hybrid seeds indoors in late winter, and transplant outdoors after the threat of frost has passed. The eggplants will be ready for harvest 50-60 days later. You can purchase a packet of seeds for $6.95 or three live starter plants for $16.95, exclusively from www.burpee.com, 1-800-888-1447.
Photo and story provided by Home, Garden and Homestead and used with permission.
Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.
