Black Beauty

Black Beauty is the classic American globe eggplant, introduced in the early 1900s and still the standard supermarket type. It produces large, plump, teardrop-shaped fruits with deep glossy purple-black skin and creamy off-white flesh. The mild, meaty flesh is well suited to grilling, roasting, baking, and dishes like eggplant parmesan and moussaka. Plants are sturdy, bushy, and productive, typically bearing four to six large fruits, and perform best in warm conditions with a long, hot growing season. An open-pollinated heirloom, Black Beauty is widely grown by home gardeners for its dependable yields and familiar appearance. Fruits are best harvested young while the skin is still glossy, before the seeds mature and the flesh turns bitter.