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'‘Intore’ Eggplant' Eggplant |
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| | Description: |
This is an oblong, lobed, white garden egg from Africa that is particularly large and more productive, especially in shorter seasons like northern Vermont where Janine Ndagijimana lives and farms. Janine's family is from Burundi but she was born in Rwanda in a refugee camp. She now grows acres of this eggplant in order to ship thousands of pounds of fresh fruits to Africans throughout the US, and now she also shares the seeds through our catalog.
People like to eat this eggplant for its health benefits and to replace meat in various dishes. They are mixed with beans and veggies, mixed with fish and oil, fried and eaten with sauce, simply boiled, and even eaten fresh like an apple.
To learn more about Janine's eggplant farming story, see these articles:
"African refugee grows homeland's bitter eggplants in Vermont" - Taiwan News
"This Refugee Is Growing African Eggplants in the US to Support Her Family" - Global Citizen
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| Days To Maturity: |
50-60
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| Seed Sources: |
True Love Seeds - updated in 2025
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| Rating Summary |
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Overall: (3.5 Stars)
Taste: (2.6 Stars)
Yield: (4.1 Stars)
Ease/Reliability: (3.9 Stars) |
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| Reviews |
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Login to share your Review of ‘Intore’ Eggplant.
Number of Reviews: 18
KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease
Reviewed on 12/18/2025 by
Ashley Helmholdt
- An intermediate gardener
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 Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Tompkins, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| This review submitted on behalf of CCE Cortland |
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Reviewed on 12/04/2025 by
Heatherny
- An intermediate gardener
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 Overall
 Taste
Yield
Ease
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Dutchess, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| This verity grew very well , but the egg plant was smaller then I expected and turned yellow orange quickly |
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Reviewed on 12/04/2025 by
Otsego Master Gardeners1
- An intermediate gardener
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Overall
 Taste
Yield
Ease
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Otsego, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: Less than 6 hours per day
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| fea beetle infestation but prolific producer |
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Reviewed on 12/03/2025 by
Cutler Botanic Garden
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Broome, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
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| Good harvest |
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Reviewed on 12/02/2025 by
MGWayne
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Wayne, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
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| These eggplants were fairly prolific, and so pretty, but the taste and texture were nothing like local eggplants. They were hard and inedible. Neither cook stewed them. |
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Reviewed on 11/26/2025 by
Orleans County MGs
- An intermediate gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Orleans, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Easy to grow and very productive! Lots of eggplants, especially late in the season. These were tricky to catch at just the right moment to harvest - they went quickly from white to yellow/orange. Good flavor and made a great ratatouille. |
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Reviewed on 11/25/2025 by
CCE Cattaraugus
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Cattaraugus, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| A very prolific producer! We harvested many small egg sized eggplants over the growing season. Best harvested when young and white. They were excellent in air fried or sautéed dishes. |
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Reviewed on 11/24/2025 by
CCE Warren County
- An intermediate gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Warren, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days
Soil Texture: Sand
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Enjoyable to watch grow and tasty to eat! Keep on top of harvesting for best results. It was a heavy producer, so there were weeks when we had to harvest twice. It was noted that this eggplant variety was not as watery as other varieties, which made it great for baking. Be sure to eat the eggplants ASAP after you pick them or else they will over-mature and turn yellow. No pest problems. |
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Reviewed on 11/10/2025 by
Albany County MGs
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
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Yield
Ease
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Albany, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
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| Mixed reviews. At one location, not the trial site, they were consumed by flea beetles. At our trial site they did very well. It was a bit of a challenge to pick them at the appropriate stage, before they turned yellow, but were quite tasty. |
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Reviewed on 11/07/2025 by
caj88 CCE Oneida County
- A novice gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Oneida, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| We didn\'t have the greatest success with the yield on this plant. Our colder start to the growing season made it hard to transplant and grow these successfully. We did end up with a few small eggplant toward the end of the growing season, and the ones we tried were rather bitter. |
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Reviewed on 10/30/2025 by
CCE Nassau County NY
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Nassau, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 183 - 203 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
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| A very productive eggplant that produced many small egg sized eggplants over an extended period. However, they needed to be harvested when young and white. Once they started to turn yellow to orange, they became quite bitter and inedible. Harvested at the right time, they were excellent in sautéed or in stews. |
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Reviewed on 10/29/2025 by
CCE Orange County
- An intermediate gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Orange, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: More than 8 hours per day
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| Minimally productive. A favorite of flea beetles. Beautiful orange hue when over ripe! |
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Reviewed on 10/10/2025 by
Cafolla
- A novice gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Monroe, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| 7/28- taste is okay, neutral, a little bitter, although the audience is all white women |
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Reviewed on 10/10/2025 by
Gasieiwcz
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Wyoming, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 123 - 143 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Small fruit needs be harvested young. If left to get large fruit bitter and unpalatable. good container variety for small spaces. Shelf life pretty short |
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Reviewed on 09/29/2025 by
Tompkins MGs
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Tompkins, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Plants grew well even with neglect in our hot summer, affected, inevitably, by flea beetles. They produced lots of small, white eggplants, a few at a time. They had nice flavor when harvested white, but bitter once they became orange. One tester with a single plant noted that there were never enough fruit at one time to prepare, as they ripened even in the refrigerator and turned bitter after picking. |
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Reviewed on 09/24/2025 by
CCE Rockland
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Rockland, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 163 - 183 days
Soil Texture: Clay
Garden Size: Small - Less than 400 square feet (20' x 20')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Very attractive plant, strong grower and very prolific fruit production. It was harvested as recommended at 3" and still white. Eaten raw and cooked it was found to be too bitter tasting. Probably would be fine in the appropriate recipe with stronger tasting ingredients. |
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Reviewed on 09/19/2025 by
Jessica Luse
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Saratoga, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Not Sure
Garden Size: Medium - 400 square feet to 1,600 square feet
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| It was a prolific plant and great grower, produced throughout the whole season. Tried in several recipes including traditional recipes and with each taste test, it was found to be very bitter. |
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Reviewed on 09/06/2025 by
Schenectady CCE
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Schenectady, New York, United States
Frost Free Season: 143 - 163 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| Harvest when it barely starts to turn yellow indicating that it has reached mature size. When it starts to turn orange it will be over ripe with black spots inside. |
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