Why The Best Way To Freeze Eggplant Involves Salt

Freezing eggplant is a great way to keep this superfood on hand year-round (who doesn't like a good freezer hack that will save you money?), but doing it right can be a bit tricky. Eggplant has a high water content, and while foods high in water are helpful when it comes to hydration and filling up faster, that moisture is exactly what makes eggplant so hard to freeze.

Eggplant is more than 85% water, and according to the University of Minnesota Extension, freezing foods high in water is quite difficult, because that water is held within the cell walls of the plant structure. As freezing occurs, the water expands and ruptures the cell walls, thus damaging the flesh (that's also why frozen cucumbers always get mushy). Therefore, freezing eggplant without addressing the high water content will alter the texture of the eggplant when it defrosts, leaving you with an unappetizing mess no one will want to eat.

For this reason, freezing raw eggplant simply won't work -– you'll want to cook it first (these expert Ottolenghi-approved eggplant roasting tips make it easy), but giving the eggplant proper treatment first is the key to success. You'll want to start by cutting the eggplant into slices or cubes depending on how you want to use it later, then give it a good salt treatment before cooking it. This not only helps with flavor, but will also help ensure the texture lasts through both cooking and freezing.

Salting is a valuable technique cooks shouldn't shy away from. When it comes to eggplant, salt serves a dual purpose — removing the compound that make eggplant bitter, known as solanine, and removing the moisture. Using this technique before freezing eggplant not only helps to give it the best possible flavor when you defrost it to use it in the future, but it also helps to maintain the structural integrity of the eggplant during the cooking process.

The process is easy. Simply cut the eggplant into slices or cubes and salt away. You don't need any particular kind of salt to achieve the desired results, so you don't have to get fancy and use a pricey gourmet variety. Just grab some cheap table salt and generously salt the exposed surfaces of the eggplant, so the salt reaches the interior moisture of the flesh. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes to pull out the moisture and the solanine, then rinse the eggplant pieces to remove the salt. Once that is done, gently dry the eggplant (a paper towel works great for this) and cook as desired. Once you master this simple technique, you'll be able to stock up on fresh eggplant and fill your freezer so you can make delicious dishes (like the tastiest eggplant parmesan) at a moment's notice.