Here’s a study published by the Turkish Fig Research Institute. Full article is attached.
CONCLUSION
The present study mainly focused on investigating the optimum conditions for freezing and thawing temperatures or defining the optimum maturity stage that help extend the postharvest life of frozen fresh figs. Besides, the present study aims at investigating the effects of different freezing and thawing conditions on fruit quality parameters in fig ‘Sarilop’ fruit.
The freezing proved to extend the shelf-life of fresh figs by decreasing the decay incidence and delaying changes in color, and some quality parameters of fruits during cold storage. Generally, the freezing at -20°C and thawing at 0°C also significantly reduced the drip loss and improved the texture quality of frozen-thawed figs.
The freezing has the potential for extending shelf-life, improving storability, and enhancing nutritional value of fresh and frozen ‘Sarilop’ figs and other fig cultivars. Therefore, it could be concluded that the consumption of these products should be encouraged.
Partial drying and then freezing allows 6 months or more of high quality fruit. Partial drying reduces volume of material to store. And I like the resulting product a lot. Frozen fresh figs kind of turn to mush when thawed. Partially dried don’t have that issue. And they’re still soft to chew.
I would love to hear what method you have found to be most effective. My mother used to have an American Harvest Snackmaster dehydrator and she preferred to punch each fig with her thumb to form a large dimple and then process them in the dehydrator.
I have observed the same thing and they were not very enjoyable in that state.
I cut them in half or sometimes more for big figs. That’s so they dry faster. And more evenly by getting the pieces about the same thickness. Then dry for 12-24 hours at 105-125F. Remove when still soft but firm. Put in a freezer bag and store in the freezer until needed. Thaw and hold in the fridge for consumption.
I have not tried freezing… with only one fig tree… my larger single evening harvests are around 25 figs… more like 12 on average.
We eat a few of those and dehydrate the rest.
I always cut figs in half for inspection… i use my 1100 candle power olight…and check them out good…occasionally locate swd larve inside.
Once they pass my inspection we eat fresh or dehydrate.
Dehydrating fig halves is faster… and I mash mine out somewhat flat with a fork… giving them a criss cross appearance… and they dry even faster that way.
Once dehydrated they are good for months stored in the fridge in a mason jar.
I still have a pint jar full in the fridge now… and they still look exactly as they did when I took them off the dehydrator rack this fall.
My Cosori dehydrator has 6… 12x13" stainless steel trays… so I have not come close to filling it up yet.
I think it could handle all fruit from 2 fig trees easily and dont expect I will ever have more than two.
I may try freezing some next fall… halves mashed flat with criss cross pattern… and see what it is like eating them while still mostly frozen.