f Fish of the Fields: Aubergines in the Ottoman Period

The diversity of aubergine dishes came to be one of the notable features of Ottoman cuisine. This article tracks the rise of the aubergine to the position of top vegetable over the Ottoman period. Although grown abundantly from the beginning of the sixteenth century, palace menus for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries indicate that abundance did not reflect superior status. Only from the eighteenth century do we find evidence of special regard for the aubergine over other vegetables. Evidence for the emergence of particular aubergine dishes and aubergine varieties is also examined.