Comprido Verde Claro

• Grown, sold, and described by Bunny Hop Seeds
• Time to maturity: midseason
• Shape: edd-shaped, nearly teardrop
• Color: lime green ripening to orange and then scarlet
• Approx. number of seeds per pack: 20+

“Comprido Verde Claro” is a Brazilian eggplant variety that came from Africa, along with residents of Africa, to Brazil. It belongs to an eggplant type called jiló. Of the two eggplants of this name (jiló), Comprido Verde Claro is lighter green and less bitter. This is a different species of eggie than I usually grow, Solanum gilo. You can see that in the plant, in which the leaves are rather serrated. The fruits begin as little lime green balls, and elongate into egg shapes that eventually turn scarlet red. The ripe fruits are not usually eaten, as they are extremely bitter with hardened seeds. The goal here is to grow the fruit as large as it can be while staying green. I have found that hot, dry weather hastens the ripening, to where the smaller fruits are ripening prematurely. This eggie does better for me, living on the Gulf Coast, grown in partial shade and given lots of water.
I have found some excellent details of the uses of this eggie variety: “In Southeastern Brazil, it is common in bars and restaurants to snack onsautéed jiló and onions when drinking cachaça, the national drink of Brazil (This jiló and onion snack is called tira-gosto in Portuguese). Jiló and onions are considered a good alternative to other dishes that are traditionally used in bars, such as pork rinds (torresmo in Portuguese), sausages, and sardines, all of which are normally fried in oil. In rural areas of Brazil, where it is also known as jinjilo, jiló is an ingredient in a tonic used as a home remedy for influenza, colds, and fevers (Kurozawa, 2007).” https://worldcrops.org/crops/jilo