The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Fig taste test

Fresh fig

I might have plucked the first fig too early, but the ants were starting to carve gullies in the skin, so I figured I should beat them to it.  No drops of nectar, though, and the hole at the end didn't look as open as in the photos I've perused online.

Ripe figPerhaps that's why our first fig was tasty, but not the flavor explosion I'd hoped for.  What do you seasoned fig-growers think --- is this fig ripe, or should I have waited a few more days?

This didn't turn out to be our first real fig taste, though, because Mark and I were treated to lightly roasted figs at my brother's wedding.  Wow!

From a search of the internet, roasting a fig sounds as simple as cutting it in half, drizzling on a bit of olive oil, and roasting at 425 for 10 to 12 minutes.  That's a recipe I'll definitely be trying as more of our figs ripen up. 

Our chicken waterer keeps day old chicks and ancient hens well-hydrated so they stay healthy.


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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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This pretty much looks like my fig when I harvested it. I didn't wait for the juice to run or the bottom to open up, mainly because I wanted the fig rather than it go to some critter. It was still more flavorful than a fresh fig from the store. Its best to be careful when dealing with fresh figs. So far my experience has lead me to believe that figs dont have much flavor when fresh, but develop better flavor when dried (or roasted. Maybe I just havent seen a figs full potential yet:)
Comment by MamaHomesteader Fri Aug 31 09:46:01 2012
MamaHomesteader --- I was wondering if that was the case --- that fresh figs are just not as exciting as dried or roasted figs. No worries since I adore both of those types of figs. :-)
Comment by anna Fri Aug 31 10:10:17 2012
I am dying to try making homemade fig newtons.
Comment by Eric in Japan Fri Aug 31 11:01:56 2012

That fresh fig looks very tasty! Over here you can usually only find dried figs, which are quite nice too.

Some fruits just taste better when they are dried, I think. One of my favorite snacks is dried apricots. IMO they taste better than fresh ones, even if you let the fresh ones ripen until they fall off the tree. Possibly because the flavor is more concentrated?

Comment by Roland_Smith Fri Aug 31 11:51:52 2012

Eric --- I know what you mean --- I'm a fan of fig newtons too. On the other hand, if given a choice between a good dried fig and a fig newton, I'd usually choose the former, so I guess I just like dried figs. :-)

Roland --- I totally agree with you. I've tried fresh apricots and had about the same feeling I did with these figs --- the flavors needed to be concentrated.

Comment by anna Fri Aug 31 18:51:27 2012
I ate fresh figs in California and when ripe there is no comparison for me--they are the fruit of the gods. I don't really care for them dried, but fresh they should be soft and juice and not REALLY sweet, but delicately sweet and flavorful like other ripe, homegrown fruits, and texture is a big part.
Comment by Anonymous Fri Aug 31 19:03:37 2012
Anonymous --- Hmmm. Wish I'd been treated to a really ripe homegrown fig so I could tell if this one was ripe. What do you do to determine ripeness?
Comment by anna Fri Aug 31 19:26:35 2012
There are many kinds of fig, and you can't judge ripeness in one variety by another. Our brown turkish figs are still green outside with inside white except near the center when ripe. A good sign is when bees and ants start working on the blossom end. Another is softness. Just a light pinch.
Comment by Errol Sat Sep 1 09:22:28 2012
Daddy --- The different varieties do make it tough to get definitive ripeness info. By your standards, I'm guessing this fig was ripe, but not sure....
Comment by anna Sat Sep 1 12:02:39 2012





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