Nature gives us healthy and tasty foods. So, at the end of the summer eggplants or "blue ones" ripen on the beds, as they were called by the common people. Although this vegetable is more purple in color than blue in color, some species are even white. This vegetable is very useful and nutritious, so the hostesses try to prepare it for the winter, then to be able to please themselves and their family with a delicious product. In this article we will talk about the different ways of harvesting eggplants for the winter time, about the rules of their storage and choose the best side dish with which you can serve the little blue ones.
Useful properties and culinary qualities of eggplants
This product contains a large amount of nutrients and vitamins. It is rich in fiber, pectin, protein, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and other nutrients. 
Regular consumption of eggplants helps to cope with colds due to the content of vitamin C, and B vitamins help to normalize the work of the nervous system.
Those who wish to quit smoking eggplant can also help, as it contains vitamin PP, which reduces nicotine addiction.
Learn more about the benefits of eggplants, as well as freeze and dry eggplants for the winter.
Regular use of "blue" doctors recommend people suffering from diseases of the genitourinary system, gout, atherosclerosis and other diseases. Manganese and zinc, which this vegetable is rich with, will help to recover from a stroke.
You can use it with diabetes.
In diabetes, such products as white beans, red currants, cantaloupe, parsley, lingonberry leaf, maple sap, Chinese cabbage, white radish are also allowed.At low hemoglobin, eggplant is prescribed for pregnant women due to the gland contained in it. Well eggplant showed its regenerating properties during the healing of various wounds.
Did you know? In eastern countries, eggplant is called "longevity vegetable", as it maintains acid-base balance.
"Blue" well helps to get rid of anxiety, insomnia or bad mood. Doctors recommend it to use for anemia, and low calorie and high nutritional value made this product indispensable in the fight against obesity.
In the fight against overweight will help products such as yoshta, zucchini, arugula, okra, nectarine, broccoli, watercress, figs.
It should be noted that even after processing, eggplant contains a large amount of nutrients.
This allows you to get the right vitamins and minerals, even from a canned product. Consider the various ways of harvesting eggplant for the winter. 
Recipe number 1 (like mushrooms)
This is the easiest and most delicious recipe for the blue ones, which taste will faintly resemble pickled mushrooms. The cooking process takes only 45 minutes.
Required Ingredients
For procurement you will need the following list of products:
- 1 kg of medium eggplants;
- 10 g of sugar;
- 10 g of salt;
- 4 things. buds of carnations;
- 2 peppercorns;
- 6 black peppercorns;
- 1 PC. bitter pepper;
- 1 head of garlic medium size;
- 125 ml of vegetable oil;
- 5-6 Art. l vinegar 9%;
- 1200 ml of water.
Step by Step Cooking Process
The process of cooking eggplant start with marinade. To do this, take a pot of 3 liters, pour water, add sugar, salt and spices (cloves, bay leaf, allspice and black pepper). All thoroughly mix and put on the stove. 
While the contents of the pan boil, you have the time and opportunity to prepare eggplants that will be cooked in this marinade. Well-washed vegetables must be chopped. To do this, separate the tips and cut the eggplant into four pieces in length.
Now you can chop the vegetables in small cubes of 2x2 cm in size. Put the resulting pieces into a separate bowl, so that they do not interfere with the preparation of other products. 
Important! Do not use retired "blue ones", as they contain a large amount of solanine. This substance may cause poisoning.
If the marinade has not boiled, then you can start preparing other products. For further work you will need to chop the garlic.
In order to quickly clean it, you can crush its teeth with a knife blade, after which the skin will open easily, and it will not be difficult to get a tooth. Cut the slices into small strips. 
When the marinade boils, you need to add 5 tbsp. l Acetic essence and mix. For lovers of sourness, you can use 1 tablespoon more. Now the marinade is ready, and you can dip eggplants in it.
You need to boil them only 5-7 minutes from the moment of boiling. You should not do it longer, then the "blue" become soft and lose their crunchy feature. While they are boiling, you have a minute to chop hot peppers.
You can take chili or pepper varieties of "light". Cut it very finely. As soon as the contents of the pot boil, the eggplants are mixed and covered with a lid. From this point on, watch the time clearly.
As soon as the "blue ones" boil over, they are filtered and allowed to drain well. 
Now you can proceed to the penultimate stage of cooking. Put the pan on the stove and pour the vegetable oil on its bottom, which must be given time to heat up.
When the oil warms up, add the garlic and hot pepper. Stir-fry these ingredients while stirring. As soon as a pleasant pepper and garlic aroma spreads around the kitchen, you can add eggplants and fry for 3 minutes. 
Fried "blue" laid out in containers. Banks and covers need to be pre-sterilized. Put the pans in the clean containers, and pour the oil on top so that the eggplants are covered with it.
It remains only to close the banks, and our eggplants are ready.
Choose the most suitable variety of eggplants for harvesting: "Clorinda", "Epic", "Black Prince", "Valentine", "Black Beauty", "Prado", "Diamond".From 1 kg of eggplants comes out two half-liter jars. The finished preservation is inverted, wrapped in a blanket and allowed to cool. It is better to keep such a twist in a cool and dark place, so after cooling, the banks are moved, for example, to the cellar.
This dish is very tasty and resembles canned mushrooms with garlic. 
Recipe number 2 (salad)
"Blue", prepared according to this recipe, can be a great addition to the festive or everyday table. After a hard working day, it will be enough to cook porridge or mashed potatoes and open a jar of delicious eggplants.
Required Ingredients
In the process of harvesting eggplant in the form of a salad, you will need:
- 1.5 kg of young "blue";
- 0.5 kg of tomatoes;
- 250 g onions;
- vegetable oil;
- 1 tsp ground pepper;
- 20 g of salt.
Action list
Before harvesting it is necessary to wash the vegetables well, and peel off the onions. After that you can start canning.
Remove the stalk of eggplants and cut them into 2.5 cm thick slices. Put the chopped blue ones into a separate pan of large size, where they will be soaked for an hour. 
Pour chopped vegetables with cold water, pre-salted (about 1 tablespoon l. Without slides). Soaking will remove the excess bitterness from them. If you use more mature eggplants, they will be steeped longer than 1 hour. 
While they are soaked so as not to lose time, you can start refueling. For its preparation, we cut peeled onions into cubes, as for frying.
Pour it into the pan and pour it with vegetable oil, which will take about 30 ml. We put on the fire and give fry until transparent color.
While onion is fried, it is necessary to chop the tomatoes. It is better to use ripe tomatoes, which are well behind the peel. It should be removed so as not to spoil the taste of the future salad.
If the skin of the tomatoes is poorly removed, then you can pour them with boiling water, after which the process of removing it will become much easier. Cut tomatoes in the same way as onions. If hard streaks come across, it is better to remove them.
Chopped tomatoes can be added to roasted onions. The contents of the pan we add 1 tbsp. l salt without slides and stir regularly during cooking. It is necessary to extinguish a zazharka within 10 minutes on average fire. 
When zazharka ready, and the "blue" soaked, you can proceed to the next stage. Pour a small amount of oil in the pan so that the eggplants do not float in it.
Before you put them on the pan, you must roll in flour. It is necessary to fry eggplants until they are ready, regularly turning and checking their readiness with a fork. Removing part of the "blue" from the pan, we report a new batch.
The main thing: do not overcook eggplants, they should be juicy and thickly chopped. Put the finished vegetables in a separate pan. 
After roasting, you can put vegetables in jars, which have previously been sterilized and dried. Fold the eggplant in layers, separating 2 tbsp. l refueling. It is necessary to seal them with a fork, so that there are no interlayers of air.
We spread the layers in such a way that at the very top there is a layer of "blue ones". After all the ingredients are laid out in cans, close them with a lid. 
Banks are put sterilized in a large pot, where they will be within 10 minutes after boiling water. Next, banks can be tightly closed with lids and turn. In this state, they should be until complete cooling.
You need to store the received salad in the refrigerator or cellar, so that the bank does not “shoot”, because vinegar is not used in the cooking process. 
Recipe number 3 (stuffed)
This recipe for "blue" can decorate your table not only in the winter, but also in the summer season, when the eggplant is actively growing in the garden.
Required Ingredients
Twist on this recipe "blue" is quite simple. For this you will need:
- 2 kg of medium-sized eggplants;
- 3 medium onions;
- 3 medium sized carrots;
- 2 heads of garlic;
- 1 pod of bitter pepper;
- 50 ml of vegetable oil;
- 500 ml of tomato juice;
Learn about the rules for making tomato juice for the winter.
- 3 tbsp. l acetic essence;
- salt, sugar to taste.
Cooking process
This recipe does not require pre-soaking or salting of eggplants, therefore, choosing medium-sized vegetables, wash well and cut off the stem. "Blue" will bake, for this we cut them into two halves, lubricate with vegetable oil and fold into a baking sheet. 
Before that, it is better to cover it with parchment paper, and heat the oven to +180 ° С. After placing the baking sheet in the oven, blueness bake for 30 minutes, checking the readiness with a knife. If they bake well, then the knife will easily pierce them.
While eggplants are baked, you can prepare vegetable stuffing. For its preparation, you will need 3 bulbs and carrots of medium size.
Learn the benefits of using onions and carrots.Peel the onions from the husk and cut into cubes, and rub the cleaned carrots on a coarse grater.
Add vegetable oil to heated pan and lay out onion. Roast it for a few minutes.After frying the onions to a clear color, you can add carrots. Stirring the vegetables periodically, stir fry until cooked (carrots should be soft).
In the meantime, while cooking vegetable zazharki, you can peel the garlic and prepare the pepper, which later add to zazharku.
Peeled garlic is finely chopped, and the pepper is cut into rings. 
Peeling seeds is not necessary if you like spicy food. Before turning off the fire vegetable frying should be salted. Salt is added a little more than usual (for such an amount 1 tsp will be enough. Without a slide), and as much sugar.
Add garlic and pepper and mix well, frying can be removed from the heat.
In parallel with the harvesting of vegetables it is necessary to prepare jars. They are well washed with soda or mustard. This will protect your preservation from the negative effects of chemicals that are contained in the detergent.
Well-washed jars are sterilized on a steam bath for 10-15 minutes. Covers pour boiling water and leave for 5-7 minutes. 
Ready "blue" out of the oven. On their halves, lay out the vegetable harvesting and press down a little. Combine the halves so that one whole eggplant comes out. Fill with such "blue" banks.
On average, you get 3-4 eggplants per one liter jar. They need to be laid quite tightly, but do not tamp. 
When the "blue" laid out on the banks, you can proceed to the preparation of pouring. It is prepared on the basis of tomato juice or diluted with tomato paste. In a separate pan pour the tomato juice or 0.5 liters of water with the addition of tomato paste in a volume of 100 g
Add to the contents of the pan 10 g of salt and sugar. If you like more salty, then it is better to put spices to your liking. Fill must be boiled from the moment of boiling for 2-3 minutes.
Ready eggplant pour tomato juice, but not until the end. Do not add fill 2 cm to the edge. 
Now you can proceed to the sterilization of conservation. For this you need a large pot.
Place a plate or cloth on its bottom to create a gap between the bottom of the jar and the pan. He will save the jar in the sterilization process and it will not "shoot."
Banks are covered with lids, but do not close them tightly. Pour warm water into the pot so that the water covers two-thirds of the containers. They need to be sterilized within 10 minutes from the moment of boiling water. 
After that, add 1 tbsp to each jar. l acetic essence. Before you close the lid tightly, add the remains of tomato fill.
Screw caps and remove the jars from the sterilizer. Tightly closed cans are immediately turned over and wrapped. In this state, leave the banks until cool. It is better to keep such preservation in a cool and dark place.
Recipe №4 (with garlic and greens)
It looks like an eggplant light salad, but instead of pepper, we will use greens and garlic. They will give a special spicy note to the salad.
Required Ingredients
To prepare eggplants with herbs and garlic, you will need:
- "blue" medium size - 1.4 kg;
- garlic - 3 large heads;
- acetic essence (9%) - 60 g;
- 1 bunch of parsley;
- 1 bunch celery;
- vegetable oil;
- salt - 2 tsp. without slides.
Learn about the beneficial properties of parsley and celery for the human body.
Step by Step Cooking Process
Before you begin, you must prepare all the vegetables. Carefully wash out the "blue" and cut off the stem. Peel the garlic and wash the greens well.
In this recipe, the blue ones need preliminary salting. To do this, cut them into circles with a thickness of 1 cm. 
Put them in a separate bowl and sprinkle with salt. Mix well, leave them until they let the juice.
Important! In the process of cooking with "little blue" do not remove the peel, it allows them to retain their shape after cooking.
In the meantime, we are starting to prepare other ingredients. Peeled garlic must be passed through a press or chopped. This can be done with the help of garlic or chopped through a meat grinder. Garlic spread in a separate bowl and add 2 tsp. salt without slides. 
Greens must also be chopped. It can be passed through a meat grinder or very finely chopped. Grinding parsley and celery, add them in a bowl of garlic. At this point, the garlic will make juice.
Having added vinegar essence, we well mix all contents of a pan.
When the eggplant dressing is ready, you can start roasting them. But first you need to drain the juice, which stood out from the vegetables. Fry them in a pan with the addition of a small amount of vegetable oil.
If you do not like fried, then you can bake the eggplants in the oven, pre-laying them on a baking sheet, covered with parchment paper, and smearing them with vegetable oil or boiling for a few minutes.
After roasting the eggplants, you can put all our ingredients in a jar. 
At the bottom lay 1 tsp. greens with garlic, and on top - "blue". Thus, we lay down all the components in layers, with each layer of eggplants slightly compacted. The topmost layer fill our refueling.
Putting the "blue" in banks, you can proceed to their further processing. Cover the jars with lids and put in a pan for sterilization. Additional liquid in this recipe is not required, since during temperature processing the vegetables will give out liquid and oil, which is absorbed during frying.
After boiling water, the banks are sterilized for 20 minutes, after which they can be sealed. They are turned over and left in this position until cool.
Thanks to the addition of greens to this recipe, eggplants gain a savory flavor. Such a dish you can cook not only for the winter, but also during the harvest. 
Если решите порадовать своих родных таким рецептом, то необходимо дать возможность хорошо пропитаться баклажанам. In this case, you need to put the "blue" in sudochek and put in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours. During this time, they will let the juice and well soaked with dressing.
Basic rules for storing blanks
Any hostess is trying to stock up on the winter, so that was something to please their household. But preparing eggplants is not so easy, as the product does not apply to vegetables for long-term storage.
Raw eggplants can be stored no more than 30-45 days. In this regard, for the preservation of the product most often used freezing. Someone just freezes fresh eggplant, and someone - baked. Let's look at the rules for storing eggplant blanks.
Did you know? "Blue little" It is better to keep fresh in paper: they breathe and retain their freshness longer.
In order for your workpieces to stand longer, it is best to keep them in the refrigerator. If there is no place for them there, then you can use a cellar or a balcony for storage, where the temperature rises no higher than +5 ° C.You will be interested to know how to build a cellar yourself, about the advantage of a plastic cellar, how to make a hood in a cellar.
It is not necessary to store blanks at room temperature for several reasons. First, such conservation will not last long, and your labors will be in vain.
Secondly, when exposed to direct sunlight eggplant emit toxic substances, which can lead to poisoning of the person. In this regard, it is necessary to choose dark and cool places for long-term storage of eggplant preservation.
What you can apply eggplants: choose a side dish
Blanks from the "blue" are a great addition to any side dish. For example, a salad based on them is ideal for rice or pasta, and eggplants that resemble mushrooms in taste can be served as a separate dish to the festive table or as an addition to mashed potatoes. 
Stuffed vegetables are tasty in combination with meat dishes, and you can use boiled potatoes as a side dish. However, canned eggplants can act as a side dish.
Did you know? In the vegetarian menu, this product can be an excellent substitute for meat.
Eggplant is a healthy and nutritious product that retains its nutritional value even after heat treatment. There is a large variety of delicious recipes for the preparation of this vegetable.
It will be an excellent addition to many dishes and, at the same time, can be used as a standalone product. Enjoy your meal!
