Of the Japanese varieties, Ichiban. Hands down.

For Italian dishes, I like White Star Hybrid. It doesn't get bitter and I like how seedy it is. But if you don't like seeds don't go for this variety!

I don't like this one myself, but my parents loved the Turkish Orange when I grew it last year. It tastes to me like a blend of eggplant and bell pepper so I kept making cacciatore with it.

You can only get Ichiban as plants from Bonnie now so what is your 2nd favorite Asian variety?

I guess millionaire is the closest I've found to Ichiban. It lacks something that I can never put my finger on, so it's worth it to me to buy the Ichiban plants. But millionaire is still pretty darn tasty!

(Ask again in a few months and I may have totally different opinions. I may have gone on an online seed shopping spree while recovering from some surgery in January!)

I like the Japanese ones in general.

Love Ichiban.

I loved all the ones that I grew, with the exception of Japanese long, but only because I could never tell when it was ripe.

Black Beauty, Diamond, Ping Tung, Rosa Bianca.

Linda

Hi nighthawk, I don't want to highjack your thread, but what's wrong with Bonnie, or do you just want to start from seed? Just curious. By the way, I found several sites selling Ichiban seeds:

http://www.paseseeds.com/eggplant-ichiban-vegetable-seeds/

http://www.reimerseeds.com/ichiban-improved-eggplants.aspx

Listed as VC271 Ichiban:

http://www.seedman.com/eggplant.htm

This is my first year growing eggplant, so I cant say what these taste like yet, but I picked up a six pack of Ichiban transplants just to try, and they seem foolproof to grow. I will say that flea beetles seem to love the leaves, and they aren't really touching my other plants. Maybe they just like eggplant in general?

Flea beetles LOVE eggplants. They like radishes even more, and I have grown radishes to lure them off my eggplants, but wonder if I am attracting even more flea beetles to my garden with the radish buffet.

For those who grow from seed, it's best to wait until the eggplants are a decent size before putting them out. The larger plants can then resist the attack better than really small seedlings.....

Linda

Concur: I also prefer the taste of Oriental eggplants. Ichiban is at the top of the list, but Black Shine, Orient Express, Fond May, Money Maker 2 have excellent flavor. Black Shine and Orient Express are very early and tend to quit early which is their major draw back. I also like the half long types like Vittoria and Twilight

I grow some Black Beauty types as well as whites , greens and striped, the latter mostly as novelties.

Poorolddirtfarmer, thank you for the links on the Ichiban seeds. Almost EVERYONE says they are impossible to find and is complaining about it. You might want to consider making a separate post with those links. Good info that a lot of people would like to know.

Another vote for Ichiban. It's just so much better than anything else. After that, the purple Indian varieties. They're good in curry.

Prosperosa is a favorite of mine. They're a bit on the round side, and small enough that my spouse and I can use an entire eggplant in a meal. Most are about grapefruit sized. The flesh is immaculately white, almost to the point it seemed unreal when slicing into them first time! We've made some great eggplant parm from these.

I also like the Middle Eastern varieties of late. Eggplant is a staple food throughout much of the Middle East, and I've found those varieties are well adapted to the arid Denver climate where I live. Aswad (available from Baker Creek) has performed really well for me, but they are big plants that produce big flat-bottomed teardrop shaped fruit, so far more space is required than for the smaller Italian varieties.

Someday I'll try the Asian types, but they're generally too thin for the reason I grow them - eggplant parmesan!

I just got Black Beauty seeds from seedman.com. Hope it's a good one! I am with the Italians here. Only reason to grow eggplant is for eggplant parmesan. Need the wide ones!

Black Beauty has been delicious for me, just not as productive as I'd hoped.

I'm glad to see votes for Rosa Bianca and Prosperosa. Those were both new additions to my eggplant selection for the year.

I like Ichiban too, but be aware that they are going away. Those selling plants and seeds are using a dwindling supply, and the germination rate from that dwindling supply is probably also dwindling. No more are being produced. Why?

https://horticulturetalk.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/bye-bye-mr-ichiban-the-discontinuation-of-ichiban-hybrid-eggplant/

Sad. I don't think any pigs have flown yet.