White Eggplant Varieties

Originally, eggplants were white, and it wasn't until later that purple and other-colored varieties were developed. The "eggplant" name derives from the egg-shaped form of those early plants, according to Sherry Rindels of the University of Iowa's Department of Horticulture. Today, ornamental eggplant, Solanum ovigerum, still has white, egg-shaped fruit, but they're inedible. Fortunately, in the Solanum melongena, or edible eggplant, family you will also find types of white eggplant that are suitable for dinner.

Ornamental white eggplant has green stems and leaf stalks; it grows shorter than its edible counterparts. Plants reach approximately 2 feet tall and spread around a foot. Some leaves may be slightly purple and a little spiny. The flowers are lilac and the fruit, which resembles chicken eggs in both size and shape, start off white and mature to yellow. The fruit of the ornamental eggplant is not edible.

White beauty is an edible white eggplant that grows on 4-foot tall plants. It has no purple in its pale green foliage. The fruit are rounded and elongated and the flavor is mild without any hint of bitterness. You should harvest this fruit when it is solid and the skin is glossy.

Two variants of white eggplant bear names with a ghostly theme. Casper eggplant is an elongated, ivory-colored fruit that grows 6 inches long and matures in 70 days. Ghostbuster eggplant matures in 80 days and is a white, oval eggplant that reaches about 7 inches long. The taste is a little sweeter than purple varieties. Ghostbuster eggplant will turn yellow once it ripens.