Fresh Figs

[ftranfa]

My wife and I are intent on reproducing the bacon-wrapped figs from Eatbar....Does anyone have a tip on where we might find a decent variety of fresh figs? Besides "Whole Paycheck" which we think will probably have some available, we are looking for quality figs...Any ideas?

[squidsdc]

My wife and I are intent on reproducing the bacon-wrapped figs from Eatbar....Does anyone have a tip on where we might find a decent variety of fresh figs? Besides "Whole Paycheck" which we think will probably have some available, we are looking for quality figs...Any ideas?

I think I purchased some last year at Trader Joes, as well as Whole Foods. But when you do find them, be sure to share the recipes you create with them!

[zoramargolis]

Figs aren't yet in season, even in California. If you find any, they will in all likelihood be imported from South America. I have a fig tree in my yard, and I don't start getting ripe figs until mid-to late August.

[PollyG]

My wife and I are intent on reproducing the bacon-wrapped figs from Eatbar....Does anyone have a tip on where we might find a decent variety of fresh figs? Besides "Whole Paycheck" which we think will probably have some available, we are looking for quality figs...Any ideas?

It is pretty early in the year to be getting domestic fresh figs. I have seen baskets of them in season at: Wegmans, Grand Mart, Super H, Giant, and Harris Teeter.

[brettashley01]

Need they be domestic? You may want to look online for some middle-eastern retailers.

ETA: Yay I'm now a ventworm!

[synaesthesia]

I saw fig plants at P St. Whole Foods today. But that may take a while... the figs were not ready.

[Meaghan]

My wife and I are intent on reproducing the bacon-wrapped figs from Eatbar....

Are those made with fresh figs?

PS: I forgot about prunes. Delete all the confusion

[synaesthesia]

Are those made with fresh figs? Just fresh pigs? Since dates are dried plums, I was thinking that maybe...

FYI Dates are dried palms. Prunes are dried plums. Unless you're being sarcastic and I don't understand.

[zoramargolis]

FYI Dates are dried palms.

??? Dates are the fruit of the date palm, but both fresh and dried dates are just called "dates."

[DinerGirl]

My neighbor bought some figs from Balducci's and they tasted like plastic. Wait until August for the good figs to be in season.

[Pool Boy]

Figs aren't yet in season, even in California. If you find any, they will in all likelihood be imported from South America. I have a fig tree in my yard, and I don't start getting ripe figs until mid-to late August.

What kind of tree is it exactly? We've been cultivating a 'tree' that seems more bush-like and the figs are green on the outside. I never know when I should start picking them. Why they droop? When I see the birds and ants starting to pillage my bounty? Help!

[zoramargolis]

What kind of tree is it exactly? We've been cultivating a 'tree' that seems more bush-like and the figs are green on the outside. I never know when I should start picking them. Why they droop? When I see the birds and ants starting to pillage my bounty? Help!

The only way to keep the birds off of a fig tree is to drape a net over the tree. I always lose a number of them to the birds, but my tree produces enough fruit that I always get some. You can gently feel the fruit--right now it is all green and hard. Depending on the variety of your tree, the figs will probably start to blush a purplish brown and will get plump and slightly soft when ripe. There is one variety (Kadota, IIRC) that remains green when ripe, but most of the fig trees around here are the colored varieties. In any case, you need to wait until they are slightly soft. I sometimes use dropped fruit, if it hasn't been too badly eaten by bugs. I just wash it--we don't use chemical fertilizer or insecticides, and there aren't any cattle grazing nearby that I've noticed.

[ashipley]

There is one variety (Kadota, IIRC) that remains green when ripe, but most of the fig trees around here are the colored varieties. In any case, you need to wait until they are slightly soft.

Figs usually ripen in August/September in this area. The fruit starts to get soft and when ripe and will detach from the branch with little resistance. They may also start to split open or show a bit of "nectar" on the bottom. You should be a bit cautious to not get too much of the milky sap from the plant on your hands -- it can make you itch something fierce! The variety I grow is a nameless green variety that has traveled through cuttings with my family through four moves.

[Anna Blume]

While there were four sad little clam shells of pathetic mission figs last week at Whole Foods, the ones on sale today at the Glover Park/G'town store looked a little small, but ripe and good enough to buy. (I opened up the clam shell and poked.) There were also organic raspberries, so fuel trail be damned for the sake of my favorite combination in clafouti.

[Pool Boy]

Figs usually ripen in August/September in this area. The fruit starts to get soft and when ripe and will detach from the branch with little resistance. They may also start to split open or show a bit of "nectar" on the bottom. You should be a bit cautious to not get too much of the milky sap from the plant on your hands -- it can make you itch something fierce! The variety I grow is a nameless green variety that has traveled through cuttings with my family through four moves.

Thanks zora and slim. Maybe I will take a picture of my 'tree'. It is definitely more bushlike this year than ever before. I don't think my figs have ever 'blushed' much if at all. More likely they will droop, and that is my sign to go pick.

[Anna Blume]

My neighbor bought some figs from Balducci's and they tasted like plastic. Wait until August for the good figs to be in season.

I wish I had seen this!!!

After tasting 1 of the 9 that I picked up for $4, I am tempted to return the whole lot to Whole Foods for a refund. It proved no different than buying Heirloom tomatoes in November or June.

As soon as you slice the soft fig, you realize it isn't ripe since the core of dry seeds is wrapped in gauzy cotton rather than the darker, jelly-like ripe flesh. Sweet, but not flavorful in any other respect.

Once the polemic about buying local has gotten old, seasonality needs to be the new buzz word. There are some foods that grow well in California when they're off-season for us, but I am guessing they're all vegetables rather than fruits.

[ftranfa]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I just found Chef Nathan Anda's recipe on the Washingtonian website.

http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/recipes/3708.html

I'll let you know how it turns out.

[squidsdc]

I picked up some fresh figs at WF in Silver Spring yesterday--mixed size, but very tasty. $2.99 on sale.

[MeMc]

My parents have a fig tree in SC and the fruit has just ripened. It seems like now would be about the time we'd see alot of fig specials on menus. I know some places like Eat Bar have them all the time. I'm wondering if we're the middle of local fig season? Am I a little early? Or are they on menus and I'm oblivious? (Sorry this is a crossover between shopping and dining.)

[Heather]

It might be a little early. We have two trees and they haven't fruited yet.

[zoramargolis]

My parents have a fig tree in SC and the fruit has just ripened. It seems like now would be about the time we'd see alot of fig specials on menus. I know some places like Eat Bar have them all the time. I'm wondering if we're the middle of local fig season? Am I a little early? Or are they on menus and I'm oblivious? (Sorry this is a crossover between shopping and dining.)

I think most of the available figs around in markets and restaurants are coming from California--just a guess. My fig tree is loaded with fruit, but it is a ways off until anything on the tree will be ripe enough for us to eat.

[Scott Johnston]

My fig tree is just getting started this year (I lost my last one) I used to have all the kids in my old neighborhood hooked on fresh figs. I miss the fig jam I used to make.

Figs aren't yet in season, even in California. If you find any, they will in all likelihood be imported from South America. I have a fig tree in my yard, and I don't start getting ripe figs until mid-to late August.

[legant]

My fig tree is loaded with fruit, but it is a ways off until anything on the tree will be ripe enough for us to eat.

Knock, knock, knock... 'Cuse me Ma'am... I'd be happy to clean up that mess 'neath that tree over there. No Ma'am... you don't have to pay me anythin'. I jus' like helpin' out ma neighbors.

That basket? Oh, that. I just finished doing Ma's -- ya know she's blind in one eye and can't see outta other -- washin' and ironin.' It's empty. See!

Ma says I'm a good kid too. Thank ya, Ma'am. I'll get started on cleaning up 'nder that tree now. I'll make quick work of it. Gotta finish up 'fore dark. Yes Ma'am. There are some sneaky, good fur nuthin' folks out in these parts.

[zoramargolis]

Knock, knock, knock... 'Cuse me Ma'am... I'd be happy to clean up that mess 'neath that tree over there. No Ma'am... you don't have to pay me anythin'. I jus' like helpin' out ma neighbors.

That basket? Oh, that. I just finished doing Ma's -- ya know she's blind in one eye and can't see outta other -- washin' and ironin.' It's empty. See!

Ma says I'm a good kid too. Thank ya, Ma'am. I'll get started on cleaning up 'nder that tree now. I'll make quick work of it. Gotta finish up 'fore dark. Yes Ma'am. There are some sneaky, good fur nuthin' folks out in these parts.

Goodness gracious me! Such a sweet-talkin' young 'un! And a hongry one, too. Ain't got enough ripe figs to share, though. Not yet. I chased me a few birds outa that tree just now. They was eatin' on the ripest one. I seen a couple more, that's all. Gotta get me a ladder to get to those ones. Lotsa green ones be hangin' though. And with alla this rain and heat we been havin', well theyll be gettin' fat and sweet mighty soon. I'll give you a holler when they do. If you can't wait, cause you got such a powerful hankerin' after figs, well I seen some down to the Whole Foods just t'other day. They was on sale for three boxes for $5. Them nice dark purple ones from California. You don't rightly see them that cheap these days. 'Less they're from a neighbor's tree...

[Pool Boy]

OK, so my fig 'tree' is more of a 'bush' and it is presently loaded with tons of green figs. When they start to drop (the figs), I know it is time to pick them, right? But these figs never get dark skinned....ever. Is there something wrong or is it just this type of fig bush that I have?

[zoramargolis]

OK, so my fig 'tree' is more of a 'bush' and it is presently loaded with tons of green figs. When they start to drop (the figs), I know it is time to pick them, right? But these figs never get dark skinned....ever. Is there something wrong or is it just this type of fig bush that I have?

When they drop to the ground, they are over-ripe. Just gently fondle them and see if they have started to soften, then pick, including a bit of the stem. There are some varieties that stay green when ripe--Kadota, Calmyrna are two. It's a bit of a challenge to know when they are ripe--but pick one and taste it, if you think it might be ripe. then you will know. They are hard until they ripen, and then they are soft...that's when you pick them. Don't wait until they fall to the ground, because then it will be a race between you and the bugs.

[legant]

When they drop to the ground, they are over-ripe. Just gently fondle them and see if they have started to soften, then pick, including a bit of the stem. There are some varieties that stay green when ripe--Kadota, Calmyrna are two. It's a bit of a challenge to know when they are ripe--but pick one and taste it, if you think it might be ripe. then you will know. They are hard until they ripen, and then they are soft...that's when you pick them. Don't wait until they fall to the ground, because then it will be a race between you and the bugs.

Com'on folks... it's too early in the morning for food porn.

[Pool Boy]

When they drop to the ground, they are over-ripe. Just gently fondle them and see if they have started to soften, then pick, including a bit of the stem. There are some varieties that stay green when ripe--Kadota, Calmyrna are two. It's a bit of a challenge to know when they are ripe--but pick one and taste it, if you think it might be ripe. then you will know. They are hard until they ripen, and then they are soft...that's when you pick them. Don't wait until they fall to the ground, because then it will be a race between you and the bugs.

Food porn or not, I just want to know if you can taste em when they're green. You think the skin (green) is edible? I'll just have to try one I guess.

Oh and the bugs don't wait til they drop, believe me.

[txaggie]

Food porn or not, I just want to know if you can taste em when they're green. You think the skin (green) is edible? I'll just have to try one I guess.

Oh and the bugs don't wait til they drop, believe me.

My aunt in Chestertown has two fig trees/bushes in her backyard. One produces small brown figs that look like this. And the other produces a larger fig (about twice the size of the brown one) with a green skin (edible). Both are delicious and were even better roasted.

[Pool Boy]

My aunt in Chestertown has two fig trees/bushes in her backyard. One produces small brown figs that look like this. And the other produces a larger fig (about twice the size of the brown one) with a green skin (edible). Both are delicious and were even better roasted.

Thanks...I am going to try one of my green-skinned ones just as soon as they ripen...should be any day now for the first one.

[Joshua Grinnell]

Pentagon City Costco had a large tray of fresh figs for about 7 dollars yesterday.

Currently eating them with ricotta. Muhahahahahha. We'll probably never even get around to trying the bacon-wrapped fig recipe.

[Barbara]

I found a one-pound container of Black Mission figs at the Safeway for $5 last week. Alas, there was no more today. These were as good as any I have ever found at a Farmers Market and a whole lot cheaper. The last few are still holding up well. Who know that Mr. Safeway could come through like this?

[squidsdc]

I picked up a flat at the Beltsville Costco today, and at some point plan to make Gary Danko's Grilled Figs with Goat Cheese and Herbs. Click here for the recipe. (Episode 8, from the TV show) I have been salivating to make these since I saw them prepared on the TV show The Best Recipes in the World with Mark Bittman.

[Pool Boy]

We had dinner with friends this past weekend and they served us a dessert of simply greek yogurt, fresh figs and some delicious honey drizzled over it all. Wonderful!

[agm]

On Saturday I tried Nathan Anda's bacon-wrapped fig recipe (link posted here a couple of months ago). It calls for dried figs, not fresh, which is an essential point, as he uses chicken stock and incredible amounts of butter to reconstitute them. At this stage, the figs were so incredibly rich, sweet and tender that the bacon in the final version was an annoying distraction.

[zoramargolis]

I did my first significant picking from my fig tree on Monday--maybe 1 1/2 quarts, without getting on a ladder. there are more ripe ones higher up than I could reach, and lots of unripe ones still to come. I'm not crazy about the flavor of these figs, kind of green and vegetal. But a couple of years ago, I discovered that they taste fantastic when they are dehydrated in the oven. I had just finished picking them, when an elderly neighbor came by with a box of figs from his two trees. These are a variety that are green when ripe (mine are brownish-purple). And his also don't taste very good raw. So they're all going in the convection oven at the lowest possible heat (170 f) with the oven door propped open.

[Anna Blume]

Recently discovered In the Sweet Kitchen and a great, quick preparation for figs.

Slice as if in quarters from the stem end without cutting all the way through, then place figs close to one another in a ceramic baking dish, pressing the four lobes of the figs slightly open like a flower in bloom.

Dot each w a little butter, then sprinkle w cinnamon and a tiny bit of cardamom if desired. (RG recommends freshly grated or ground spices--but fine from powder.) Then drizzle w a mixture of orange zest, orange juice and honey [not too dark--I used orange blossom]--not too much--just enough to make a sauce. Bake at around 350 F, I think, basting after 15 minutes and continue until fruit looks roasted and juices reduce and become a little syrupy.

In book, they top marscapone on a sweet polenta pastry. I find they're wonderful cold for breakfast folded into thickened yogurt. Cf. Pool Boy's post above.

(Trader Joe's was selling what seem to be decent figs at $4 a lb. this weekend.)

[zoramargolis]

I just made two different kinds of fig preserves with the ripe figs that are currently abundant on my tree. These were generally based on recipes from _Mes Confitures_ by Christine Ferber. The first was flavored with lavender honey, lemon and bay leaf. The second was a spiced jam made with part fresh and part dried figs, orange and lemon juice and zest and spices (cinnamon, cardamom and anise). I wasn't crazy about the texture of my oven dried figs, so this was a good use for them. In contrast to what the recipe called for, I finely chopped the dried figs in the Cuisinart, and pureed the fresh figs, to give it a thick consistency with some variety in texture. For the first recipe, I followed the recommendation to slice the figs, and it has bigger pieces of fruit in a thick, clear syrup.

The recipes did not indicate the amount of finished jam that they would make. I followed the amounts by weight, and the first recipe made two and a half pints. The second one made four pints. I also added some powdered apple pectin, which I bought at Surfas when I was in L.A. I just don't trust preserve recipes to set up if they don't have pectin added--a young cousin of mine sent me a jar of blueberry preserves she made at home in Alaska--it's basically a jar of blueberry syrup.

My figs don't taste that good fresh, but with the flavor enhancement these two recipes provide, and the process of being cooked, they make very tasty preserves.

[goldenticket]

OK, so my fig 'tree' is more of a 'bush' and it is presently loaded with tons of green figs. When they start to drop (the figs), I know it is time to pick them, right? But these figs never get dark skinned....ever. Is there something wrong or is it just this type of fig bush that I have?

This is the kind of fig trees we have in our backyard and they are producing lots of ripe fruit right now. I sure wish I'd read the post about the milky white stuff on the stems causing itching. The poor +1 was in misery after his first foray into fig harvesting

The figs are pretty good fresh, but I was wondering if anybody has some other ideas (beyond goat-cheese-stuffed grilled/roasted and preserves).

[Anna Blume]

Cf. Dupont Market topic. Okay, I'll tell you here. Next Step Produce. Bearded vegan: Heinz Thomet. In parking lot. Organic. Small. Purty. Pale brown skin utterly edible. Intended for clafouti w raspberries but I kinda doubt they'll all make it in since I couldn't resist the two slightly mushed in backpack.

[Pool Boy]

So, I am growing a green variety of figs at home. The 'tree' has become a 'bush of a thousand figs'. Seriously. I will have to take a picture to ask y'all when you think they are ready. And what the hell to with all of them when they are ready to pick.

[Pool Boy]

This is the kind of fig trees we have in our backyard and they are producing lots of ripe fruit right now. I sure wish I'd read the post about the milky white stuff on the stems causing itching. The poor +1 was in misery after his first foray into fig harvesting

The figs are pretty good fresh, but I was wondering if anybody has some other ideas (beyond goat-cheese-stuffed grilled/roasted and preserves).

What's the best way to dry them? Might be worth a shot to preserve them....

[dmwine]

So, I am growing a green variety of figs at home. The 'tree' has become a 'bush of a thousand figs'. Seriously. I will have to take a picture to ask y'all when you think they are ready. And what the hell to with all of them when they are ready to pick.

They're ripe when they turn a little bit brown, and the stem starts to droop. And when the birds start eating them.

[ol_ironstomach]

Anybody have tips to share on propagating fig trees? Some of our friends in Brooklyn have acquired a house in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood with a fine fig tree in the backyard, and we suspect it's descended from one of the Italian varieties that have been grown there since the late 1800s. Is growing one from seed a reasonable undertaking, or are we more likely to succeed with cuttings and rooting hormones?

[zoramargolis]

Anybody have tips to share on propagating fig trees?<snip> Is growing one from seed a reasonable undertaking, or are we more likely to succeed with cuttings and rooting hormones?

The large, healthy fig tree in my yard was propogated by my MIL from a cutting given to her by a man up the street. It bears large quantities of tasteless fruit each year. If you can get a cutting from a delicious variety, go for it! You'll have to get instructions from someone else, as I have never done it. Our Montgomery County Master Gardener, Porcupine, perhaps?

[porcupine]

The large, healthy fig tree in my yard was propagated by my MIL from a cutting given to her by a man up the street. It bears large quantities of tasteless fruit each year. If you can get a cutting from a delicious variety, go for it! You'll have to get instructions from someone else, as I have never done it. Our Montgomey County Master Gardener, Porcupine, perhaps?

I can no longer claim to be a MG; I'm a former MG. (It's a legal thing, believe it or not.) At any rate I would have chimed in, but I've never grown figs myself, so a Google search will give more info than I can. The UMd Home and Garden Information Center has nothing on propagating them.

Most fruit trees have to be propagated vegetatively in order to bear true; planting seeds usually results in wild variations. I don't know if that holds for figs, as they are parthenocarpic. If you find an answer, let me know - now I'm curious.

[Anna Blume]

Another exceptional source for fresh, local figs is Sand Hill Farm. I don't all the markets they attend, but you can find Charlene and her loyal assistant, Eilene, at the Penn Quarter Market at the top of the street, on the right, looking down towards the Archives.

* * *

Goldenticket asked for a recipe that is not original (I am too enamored w the creativity of cookbook authors, always looking for an idea that would not have occurred to me in a more modest version of a type of quest that was recently skewered by a good-looking rabble-rouser who also mocked Ancient Greek architecture while visiting Saint Paul), but rather, something that comes from Regan Daley, courtesy of In the Sweet Kitchen.

Oven-roasted Figs w Orange and Honey

Easily adjustable to smaller quantities. Best to go light on orange juice to encourage glazing. Good w marscapone, ice cream, Greek yogurt, creme fraiche or sweetened ricotta, sprinkled w raspberries.

[goldenticket]

Goldenticket asked for a recipe that is not original...

Thanks Anna Blume - I'll let you know how it works with the green variety that grows in my backyard.

[Soup]

picked some off a tree. Got to get me my own fig tree. They were small purplish figs and just so sweet. I only got to eat a couple. The kids just polished the whole thing off.

[Soup]

Been looking for fig in NOVA. Where can I find some fresh figs.