 Fig flavours.
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Figs are the essence of the south, a food as reminiscent of ancient times as
the olive, the grapevine and wheat. At their freshest, ripest best, they are
lush mouthfuls of soft pink flesh, fragrant and undeniably sensual, with a
simple and true taste of the land they come from.
There are several basic botanical types of fig but within these there are
hundreds of commercial varieties which form a wide spectrum of flavour,
sweetness, size and colour, ranging from purple to brown, green-gold, black
or even white. In the Mediterranean regions, there are usually two crops,
with the season stretching from June through to October and November. It is
these second-crop figs that are usually dried.
In classical Greece, athletes would eat figs in training for the Olympics.
The Romans believed the best figs came from Izmir in Asia Minor, where
large, yellow Smyrna figs are still grown, mostly for drying.
Small Mission figs were introduced into California in the 18th century from
Mexico via Franciscan monks and Spanish missionaries. Deep purple-black on
the outside and red inside, they have a rather coarse texture but sweet
flavour. Mostly used for drying, they are moist enough to be used straight
from the packet.
Yellow-green Italian Dottato (or Cadota) figs are probably the most
important variety of common fig. Although usually eaten fresh they are also
used for canning. Their squashy, syrupy sweetness makes a good
store-cupboard companion for vanilla ice cream.
Dried figs
Dried figs can be soaked in boiling water, although the well-known food
writer Jane Grigson recommended steaming as a mode of revival, especially if
you want to the fig to keep its shape. Dried figs are also excellent
chopped, mixed with nuts and spices and added to tea-breads and cakes, or
stewed, flavoured with anise and fennel.
Figgy pudding is a traditional steamed British pudding, sometimes eaten on
Palm Sunday. In Provence, a New Year dessert known as ‘les quatres
mendicants’ is a mixture of figs, raisins, hazelnuts and almonds, made to
commemorate the colours of the habits once worn by the four Roman Catholic
mendicant orders.
Fresh figs
Fresh figs are best eaten as close to the tree of origin and as ripe as
possible, when they’re just on the point of bursting. Look for the telltale
honey-like drop of moisture on the surface.
Thin-skinned and easily bruised, they need careful handling
Ripe figs, however, are highly perishable and will not keep for longer than
three days in the fridge. Thin-skinned and easily bruised, they need careful
handling and should be wrapped for travel in tissue, like a Romanov
princess. Bring out their delicate scent and flavour by leaving them in the
sun for an hour or so before serving.
Fig feasts
A perfect fresh fig is best eaten simply as a dessert or as a starter with
prosciutto. Eating them this way is an old tradition. In Assisi in 1874,
John Ruskin wrote “Catherine brought me up as a great treat yesterday at
dinner, ham… and a plate of raw figs, telling me I was to eat them
together!”
If you have a good supply, however, use them to make ice cream or sorbet, as
does Regis Negrier, pastry chef at The Wolseley in London. He says, “When
figs are ripe they are sweet and juicy, full of sun. It’s a delight to make
a sorbet from mashed figs, lemon juice and sugar to taste, which I use in a
coupe with figs marinated overnight in port wine and orange juice. We also
use dried figs for our autumn breakfast compote, combined with apples,
apricots, prunes and spices, and cooked very slowly until tender.”
For reasons of convenience, however, many figs are imported hard and
immature. If they are very under-ripe, poach them gently in vanilla syrup or
bake them slowly with a drizzle of honey, fortified wine (such as port or
sweet sherry) and aromatic flavourings such as cinnamon, citrus peel and
pomegranate seeds. Even those who famously, like Aristophanes, could not
give a fig, will be seduced.
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