| Gretel Eggplant
 - Fruit size: 3 to 4 inches long
- Matures: 55 days
This one is the color of an egg. Children and the gardeners who love them will delight in these dwarf, white eggplants called Gretel, a 2009 All America Selection. It is the earliest eggplant in the garden, so you will be picking fresh eggplant sooner than ever before. Gretel is a compact plant no taller than 3 feet and about as wide, which makes it perfect to plant in containers (the ground, too, of course). Borne in clusters, the tender, almost seedless, long white eggplants have a tender skin that doesn’t need peeling, saving time in the kitchen and bringing more fiber and nutrients to the table. For best growth, space plants 2 feet apart after the weather warms consistently above 55 degrees. Nutritional Information Eggplant is another versatile, low-calorie vegetable that is packed with fiber and a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. One such nutrient, nasunin, is a potent antioxidant that protects the fats in brain cell membranes. Nasunin and other phytonutrients have been seen to have cardiovascular benefits as well. You may want to leave the skin on when baking or sautéeing small, dark-skinned eggplants in order to retain extra nutrients. The larger and white-skinned ones are generally tougher and best peeled. 1 cup cubed boiled eggplant: - Carbohydrates: 9 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 1 gram
- Sugars: 3 grams
- Thiamin: 5% DV
- Vitamin B6: 4%
- Vitamin K: 4%
- Manganese: 6%
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