Cook it first. Freezing it fresh will change the texture, and unless you are making baba ganoush, it won't be the same.

Lars

I've frozen eggplant, which I then fried for eggplant parmesan and it was OK. Not like fresh, of course, but still OK.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation says you cannot can eggplant because it's too dense for the heat to penetrate evenly enough for it to be safe. The instructions I used said to slice and blanch in a gallon of boiling water with 1/2 cup of lemon juice. I think the lemon juice was to reduce the discoloring of the eggplant by preventing or delaying oxidation. It also said to peel the eggplant, which I did, but I'm not sure that was necessary.

I also found that, like sliced green tomatoes, if they are fried while still frozen they don't fall apart so much.

Annie

I'd purged it first, using a salt purge.

I've frozen blanched eggplant slices to use in eggplant parmesan. The best way I've found to freeze eggplant is to slice it, grill it over charcoal and then freeze. When ready to use, put the frozen slices on a broiler pan and put under the oven's broiler for a few minutes (time depends on how thick the slices are). It's practically like fresh.