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Salt Questions · Cooking & kitchen

Why do you salt eggplant before cooking it?

By The Salt AlmanacUpdated November 8, 20262 sources cited

Short answer

Salting eggplant draws out water. This collapses the air pockets in its spongy flesh, so it absorbs less oil when fried and browns better. Salting was also used to reduce bitterness, but most modern eggplant varieties are much less bitter, so for many recipes the step is optional.

The Salt Almanac

Salting eggplant

  1. 1Slice and toss with salt
  2. 2Rest 30–60 minutes in a colander
  3. 3Rinse if needed, pat dry
  4. 4Fry or roast: less oil absorbed
Graphic: The Salt Almanac, drawn from the sources listed below.

What salting does

Eggplant flesh is full of tiny air pockets. Raw, it soaks up oil like a sponge. Salt pulls water out of the cells; as they soften and collapse, there is less room for oil, so fried or roasted eggplant ends up less greasy and more silky.

How to do it

  1. Slice or cube the eggplant.
  2. Toss with salt and leave in a colander for 30–60 minutes.
  3. Rinse if very salty, then pat thoroughly dry.
  4. Cook, using less added salt than usual.

Is it always needed?

For grilling, steaming or stewing, skipping it is usually fine. For frying, it makes a noticeable difference.

Related on The Salt Almanac

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Cite this page

For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.

The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Why do you salt eggplant before cooking it. https://saltalmanac.com/answers/why-do-you-salt-eggplant-before-cooking-it

Original sources

  1. Wikipedia. Eggplant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant
  2. Wikipedia. Osmosis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmosis