Purple vegetables can add color to a dish making it more appealing and healthier, too. It is known that purple vegetables or fruit are beneficial to health as they are a good source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phyto-chemicals. Phyto-chemicals are substances found only in plants that may even help our body fight disease. Anthocyanin and phenolic are found in berries, dried plums (prunes), and raisins. They are believed to reduce risk of disease such as cancer and heart disease.

Good examples of vegetables and fruits that are purple in color are aubergines (brinjal, eggplant), yams, plums, blueberries, and grapes.

Yam has been a staple food for many cultures for thousands of years and today, there are countless varieties of it in different shapes, colors (even blue), and sizes.

Aubergines belong to the night shade family of vegetables and are thus related to potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers. They were being eaten in China in 5 BC and are thought to be cultivated in India many years before this time. The Moors introduced the aubergine to Spain some 1,200 years ago and it started growing in the Andalucia region. From there, it was introduced to other parts of Europe, such as Italy, Greece, and Turkey which claim to have at least 100 ways of cooking the aubergine.

Like yam, aubergine comes in many varieties. The small and plump aubergines look like large eggs (hence their nickname, eggplant), while stripped varieties may be purple or pink with white stripes. The Asian or Japanese aubergine (brinjal) is bright purple, thin and straight with a slight bend at the bottom and has a tender, slightly sweet flesh. Most aubergines, however, are glossy dark purple or almost black.

Blueberries have white or pale-green flesh, a deep-blue skin with a waxy gloss and vary in size and shape.

Plums can be divided into two categories: plums for cooking and plums which can be eaten fresh. The latter has a higher sugar content and are juicier, whereas cooking plums can be acidic and frequently have dry flesh and tough skins. European plums have skin colors ranging from green-yellow to deep blue, whereas Japanese varieties tend to be larger with predominantly red skin tones, although some have yellow skin.

If you find that your food looks a little bit drab, perhaps you may want to spice it up with some healthy and attractive-looking purple vegetables and fruit.

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