Figs, figs, everywhere!

I think this little morsel is ready. It’s droopy, yellow and soft! It’s called Italian Honey Fig!


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Wait another day or two.

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That’s the hardest part with the first ones of the season. :yum:

I agree. I would wait another couple of days.

I also have a single Breba Italian fig ripening. It’s a very small tree and it’s is first Breba but it shows promise.


The variety is Fioroni Petrelli (Breba Petrelli) and according to what i have read the Brebas common weight is around 115 g (roughly 4 ounces). It should ripe in the first 2 weeks of June. It’s a bit late but is a very young plant, so it can be that or the lack of warm weather we are having this year.
In the internet photos i googled the skin is much greener, not yellow like mine.

Edit
I have just found this internet photo of this variety in Italy. Not so green after all.

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The Kadota that I pictured above showed its readiness by falling, hot and ripe, into my open hand placed under it. I could inhale the scent of ‘fig’ inches away from the eye. An hour later when my daughter arrived home we both independently detected a slight scent of fermentation mixed in.

Despite yesterday’s rain, the interior was thick, not watery. It weighed in at 32 grams. I experienced top notes of banana, which then met with, and was overtaken by, aspects of sweet mango within the figgyness. My daughter did not taste hints of ripe banana, but agreed that she tasted mango “or some other tropical fruit” mixed in. @justjohn I think you’ll like Kadota.

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@MuddyMess_8a that fig sounds delicious, you have sold me. Thankyou very much for the taste description, I am looking forward to growing Kadota!

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I had to pick the Armenian fig pictured above today. The ants forced my hand, which may have been a good thing.

Weighing in at 44 grams, the Armenian was distinctly different from any of the limited variety of tree ripened figs I’ve tasted. It would not have improved by staying on the tree under my current local growing conditions.

This fig was much more hollow centered. The area surrounding the eye was declining, either from the ants or over-ripening. The complimentary version of the rest - It was surprisingly thirst quenching, and could appropriately be called juicy. The taste was subtle, with a few crunchy seeds. There was little scent detectable.

Someone who did not care for this type of fig might describe it as watery and lacking a distinctive character. They might prefer it dried or stuffed.

Since this was the only fig on a small twig of a first year tree, the taste may be very different next year. I’ll just have to wait and see. In any case, I’m glad to have it in order to be able to compare and contrast different varieties.

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I’m looking forward to fig harvest this year. I have about 8 plants with figs. See what works here. I’ll report back anything noteworthy.

Drew,
Not to burst your bubble, but I found Italian Honey to be way too sweet
for my taste. It was pure sugar and nothing else. Some people like that
type of fig, but I gave away my tree.

Thanks Ray, more info is always good! The want list is now down to about 20!

My take on those type figs is they aren’t too sweet. Rather they lack richness of flavor.

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Drew,

Please keep a rough tally of when they ripen. I am beginning to appreciate more and more the terms “early ripening” and “productive.” Thanks. :slight_smile:

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I’m a cold weather native, but I came across some fresh Black Mission figs (breba’s, I assume) at a farmer’s market in California when on vacation last month.

They were very sweet but had a weird aftertaste in the skin to me. Are all figs that way? I like dried Black Mission figs, but I could only eat a couple of the 4 or 5 Black Mission figs I bought.

Some of mine like Strawberry Verte have great flavor in pulp and skin. I always eat the skin, tastes great.

I always peel mine like a banana and slice them first. You never know what’s under the skin. I haven’t developed a taste for ants.

Actually the Ants are not bad and can give some acid twang. SWD maggots on the other hand really ruin the fruit itself, A souring slimy nasty mess, not sure what the Maggot itself tastes like in the Zombie pie. I always eat the skin, but I do break them open see what way have wandered in. The ants I simply blow most off.

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Ants are sweet and crunchy! The problem with the ones here is that they bite you before you can bite them. :smile:

Other than cutting larger figs in half, I’d think it would be difficult to slice up a very ripe fresh fig after peeling. At least difficult to keep the gobs of gooey goodness intact without becoming smooshy, squishy, smears.

The skin in my Moscatel Branco is a very important part of the flavor. I will always eat it with the skin.



I decided to harvest my Petrelli Breba before some creature beat me to it.

The taste surprised me very favorably, being a Breba and a first fig. Very juicy and sweet, but with a complex figgy flavor that lingered in the mouth. My wife agrees with me. A definitive keeper.

A few photos…





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Drew,
Maybe you can put some of your fig magic on this slacker fig I grow! No figs yet!

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clarinks,

Have you tried pinching it? Removing the apical growth on a branch that has 6-8 leafs, reduces it’s dominance and it’s really important in promoting new branches and figs!

This is roughly 4-6 weeks after pinching depending on the variety (just a few don’t respond so well to pinching).



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