Can I save seeds from grocery store Eggplants If I wait long enough?

[Professor Porcupine]

Is it possible to seed ripen grocery store eggplants (Solanum melongena) like you would ripen green tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) off the vine? I'm trying to save Grocery Store Eggplant seeds & was wondering if I can just simply let them ripen at home?

Here were the fruits I saw at the grocery store, which ones do you think I can ripen & save viable seeds from?

[Steffen Bauer]

No, you generally cannot ripen standard grocery store eggplants off the vine to save viable seeds because they are harvested far too early in their botanical development. Unlike tomatoes, an eggplant picked at the commercial eating stage will simply rot on your counter rather than develop mature, viable seeds.

Eggplants sold in grocery stores are picked at peak culinary ripeness, which actually means they are botanically immature. At this stage, the flesh is tender, and the seeds inside are soft, white, and completely unformed. For an eggplant to produce viable seeds, it must be left on the plant until it is completely overripe and practically inedible.