Do I need to salt eggplant?

I've read that eggplant can be bitter. I want to make a roasted eggplant dish this evening, should I salt the eggplant first? Dry brine or wet?

gabriel.avilamooney
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2 Comments

Greenstuff September 15, 2011
This one is a frequent foodpickle question. I find that most eggplants don't truly need salting, but I frequently do it anyway. Not so much to reduce bitterness but rather to extract some water. Like Sam1148, I do not wet brine. I put the eggplant in a colander, salt and toss it, then leave it for a while, his 10 minutes or longer. A quick rinse, or a rinse and a press if I really want to reduce the moisture content.
 
Sam1148 September 15, 2011
I find the Japanese eggplants don't need salting. When you use bigger eggplants..a light dusting with kosher salt for 10 mins and quick rinse and dry.
I wouldn't use a wet brine...they're like sponges and you'd end up with a salt brick.

Look at the seeds, if they're brown older seeds you probably need to salt, rinse and dry.
If they're mostly younger white seeds, you could skip it.
 
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