Eggplant and aubergine are two names for the same vegetable, with glossy purple, white, or green skin; eggplant is the American term, and aubergine is the British and international one. A simple memory hook: early Western varieties were small and white, shaped like an egg, which is how eggplant got its name.
The core difference
Eggplant and aubergine refer to the same vegetable; the choice of word is simply a matter of American versus British English.
- eggplant — a vegetable with smooth, glossy purple (or sometimes white) skin, also a deep purple colour: She sliced the eggplant thin and grilled it with olive oil.
- aubergine — the same vegetable and its purple, green, or white fruit, also used for the dark purple colour: The curry was rich with chunks of aubergine.
How to tell them apart
There is no difference in the vegetable itself, only in the word used to name it. Eggplant is standard in American English, and comes from early varieties that were small, white, and egg-shaped, even though most eggplants sold today are a deep purple. Aubergine is the term used in British English and internationally, and it also names the dark purple colour of the vegetable's skin.
A recipe written for a British audience will call for aubergine, while an American one will call for eggplant, but shoppers can treat the two words as complete equivalents at the greengrocer's.
