Figs

More Ingredients of the Month

Figs are members of the genus Ficus belonging to the family Moraceae (mulberry family) and are one of the earliest fruits cultivated by man. The fig tree was mentioned very early on in The Bible and some scholars believe the forbidden fruit picked by Eve was a fig rather than an apple, which would actually make more sense as it�s supposed to be a fig leaf which Adam chose to �protect his modesty�.

Although there are 800 species belonging to this genus, here we will concentrate on The Common Fig (F.Carica) which is the type most commonly cultivated nowadays for culinary purposes.

Origin and History of Figs

Cooked figs have been used as a sweetener since ancient times - a practise which still continues today in North Africa and the Middle East. They were also used for medicinal purposes as a laxative and diarrheic.

The fig is native to an area from stretching from Turkey to northern India. Sumerian (present day Southern Iraq) stone tablets dating back to 2500 B.C. record the use of figs. By the 8th century B.C. they had been introduced to Greece where they became an important staple: fresh in the summer � dried in the winter. By the 5th century B.C. fig cultivation had spread to Italy and  they were sufficiently important to Romans that great effort was put into developing new cultivars even though it was still considered that the best figs were to be found in Syria. By this time, fig cultivation was also widely practised in Spain, North Africa and Portugal � introduced by the Arabs during the Arabic Conquests, - as well as in France, the Channel Islands and even the southern part of England.

Figs were first introduced into the New World by the Spanish and Portuguese in the 16th century. From the West Indies figs spread to the United States and by the 20th century they had become a thriving industry parts of the south of the US. The first California figs were planted in 1769 in the gardens of the mission at San Diego. These same figs were planted in the string of missions which spread northwards  and became known as 'Mission' or 'Franciscan' figs.

Cultivation and Processing of Figs

Fig trees can grow over 50 feet tall in the wild however, commercially grown trees are usually kept to below 15 feet and look more like a large shrub or bush. Newly planted seedlings start bearing fruit after 5-7 years and continue to produce fruit for a very long time. Trees which were planted at the beginning of commercial fig production in America about 100 years ago are still bearing fruit today.

Unusually, these trees don�t produce any outer blossom from which the fruit form. The actual fig is in fact a specially adapted flower, an �accessory fruit� called a syconium which can best be described as an inverted flower. The fruit/flower contains a small opening in the apex and a hollow area inside containing small seeds which are pollinated by small insects crawling into the cavity and fertilising the fruit.

Figs usually crop twice in a season although some varieties can crop throughout the season. The first crop in summer is generally used for fresh fruit and the second crop for drying. As the fruit doesn�t continue to ripen once picked, they must be allowed to fully ripen on the tree for optimum flavour. This may account for some of the tasteless fruit sometimes to be found in supermarkets, as imported fruit have to stand up to the rigor of travelling and are probably shipped when they are not as ripe as they should be.