ᐉ Fig fruit - Exotic fruits and vegetables

Hold a ripe fig in your hand, and you are holding a biological mystery that has confused and delighted humans since the dawn of agriculture. While I spend my days tending to the soil and irrigation here in San Diego, I often find that my customers know surprisingly little about what this “fruit” actually is. Most people know the fig, or Ficus carica, as the dried paste inside a Newton cookie, but the fresh reality is a complex explosion of texture and ancient history.

Emily Rodriguez

Here at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we often have to explain that a fig is not a fruit in the botanical sense. It is a syconium—an inverted flower. Imagine a bouquet of hundreds of tiny flowers that, instead of blooming outward to show off to the world, decided to bloom inward, wrapping their petals inside a protective skin.

When you eat a fig, you are eating hundreds of tiny individual fruits (achenes), which are those crunchy little bits often mistaken for seeds. It is a marvel of evolutionary engineering that predates wheat and barley domestication.

Contents

The Wasp and The Fig: A Love Story (mostly)

One of the most common questions I get at the farmers market is, “Is there a dead wasp in my fig?” It is a fair question based on a fascinating biological partnership. In the wild, and with specific varieties like the Smyrna, the fig requires a specialized partner: the tiny Blastophaga psenes wasp. The female wasp crawls inside the fig through a tiny opening called the ostiole to lay her eggs, pollinating the internal flowers in the process.

Do not panic about eating insects. The vast majority of figs sold in American supermarkets and grown in home gardens are “Common” types (like the Black Mission). These are parthenocarpic, meaning they develop fruit without pollination and without any wasps ever entering the fig.

Even in varieties that do require pollination, the fig produces an enzyme called ficin that completely digests the exoskeleton of the wasp, turning it into protein. So, strictly speaking, the wasp is gone long before you take a bite. It is nature’s way of recycling.

A Deep Dive into Varieties: The Flavor Spectrum

San Diego’s unique Mediterranean climate allows us to see the full spectrum of fig diversity. Most consumers think there are only two types: black and green. In reality, there are over 700 varieties, each with a distinct “eye” size, skin thickness, and pulp flavor. I once did a blind taste test with a group of chefs, and they were shocked to find notes ranging from raspberry jam to maple syrup and even Pinot Noir.

We generally categorize figs into three flavor profiles: the Sugar profile (simple sweetness), the Berry profile (acidity and fruitiness), and the Honey profile (rich and amber-toned).

Variety Name	Skin / Pulp Color	Flavor Profile	Texture Notes
Black Mission	Deep Purple / Red	Earthy, mineral, strawberry	Chewy skin, creamy interior
Kadota	Yellow-Green / Amber	Light honey, floral	Thick skin, fewer seeds
Calimyrna (Smyrna)	Golden / Nut-Brown	Nutty, butterscotch, vanilla	Crunchy seeds, dense flesh
Panache (Tiger Stripe)	Green Striped / Crimson	Bright berry, tart raspberry	Dry exterior, jammy center
Adriatic	Pale Green / Strawberry	Intense berry jam	Very thin skin, melts in mouth

Anatomy of the “Eye” and Spoilage

If you look at the bottom of a fig, you will see a small hole. This is the ostiole, or the “eye.” This tiny biological feature dictates almost everything about the fruit’s quality and shelf life. Varieties with an “open eye” are prone to souring because moisture, bacteria, and insects can enter easily. This is why, in the humid mornings of San Diego’s “June Gloom,” open-eye varieties often ferment on the branch before they are even picked.

When selecting figs, smell them first. If you detect even a faint scent of wine or vinegar, the fermentation process has begun inside the syconium. The fruit is overripe and will taste sour.

Closed-eye varieties, like the Celeste or the LSU Purple, are tighter and resist spoilage much better. The size of the ostiole is the single most important trait for determining if a fig variety will survive in a humid climate versus a dry desert climate.

Nutritional Powerhouse and Latex Secrets

Beyond the sugar, figs are a functional food powerhouse. They have the highest fiber content of any common fruit, dried or fresh. A single large fig provides about 2 grams of fiber. They are also packed with potassium, calcium, and iron. But there is a chemical component that rarely gets discussed: the latex.

Have you ever noticed a white, sticky sap oozing from the stem when you pick a fig? That is latex containing a proteolytic enzyme called ficin. Historically, this sap was used as a coagulant to make cheese before rennet became widely available. I remember my grandfather telling me how they used to use the sap to treat warts on their hands—a folk remedy that actually has some scientific backing due to the enzyme’s tissue-dissolving properties.

Be cautious with the white milky sap from the stems or leaves. It is a skin irritant and essentially a natural latex. If you get it on your skin and then expose that skin to sunlight, it can cause phytophotodermatitis—a painful, blistering rash.

Our team at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables loves highlighting the digestive benefits of figs. Unlike laxatives that irritate the gut, the prebiotic fiber in figs feeds the healthy bacteria in your microbiome. It’s a gentle, food-based approach to gut health that has been utilized since the days of ancient Greece.

Culinary Applications: Beyond the Cheese Plate

While a fresh fig with goat cheese is a classic for a reason, the culinary potential is vast. Because figs are low in acid, they pair exceptionally well with salty, cured meats like prosciutto or speck. The salt cuts the sweetness, and the fat carries the flavor.

One of my favorite discoveries happened by accident. I had a batch of “Breba” crop figs (the early crop that grows on last year’s wood) that were large but somewhat bland. I decided to roast them with rosemary and olive oil. The heat collapsed the cell walls, concentrated the sugars, and the rosemary infused a piney depth that made them taste like a savory meat dish.

Here are some unconventional ways to utilize the fruit:

Coffee Substitute: Roasted and ground fig roots and fruit have been used as a coffee extender or substitute in Europe for centuries, offering a caffeine-free, roasted flavor.
Meat Tenderizer: Remember that enzyme, ficin? Mash raw figs and use them in a marinade for tough cuts of beef. The enzymes break down the muscle fibers naturally.
Fig Leaf Tea: Don’t ignore the leaves. Dried fig leaves steeped in hot water create a tea that tastes surprisingly like coconut and vanilla.
Frozen Treats: Freeze whole figs. When eaten frozen, the texture is remarkably similar to sorbet or gelato due to the high sugar content preventing rock-hard freezing.

“The fig is the only fruit that is better the uglier it looks. A smooth, pretty fig is an unripe fig. You want it checking, cracking, and drooping.” — An old Italian market wisdom.

Selection, Storage, and Handling

Buying figs is a high-stakes game. Unlike bananas or avocados, figs do not ripen after they are picked. They might soften slightly as they rot, but they will not develop more sugar. You are buying them exactly as they are. This is why you rarely see great figs in big chain supermarkets; the logistics of shipping a dead-ripe fig are a nightmare.

When you are at the market, look for the “tears.” A truly perfect fig will often have a drop of nectar oozing from the eye like a tear. This indicates the sugars are at maximum concentration. The skin should be giving, almost to the point of being mushy.

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The Handling Protocol

The Touch Test: Use the pads of your fingers, not the tips. The fruit should feel like a water balloon that is not quite full.
The Stem Check: The stem should be firmly attached. If it’s loose, the interior might be drying out.
Storage Reality: Place them in a single layer on a paper towel in the fridge. Do not stack them. They will bruise and mold within 24 hours if stacked.
Washing: Do not wash figs until the minute you are ready to eat them. Moisture on the skin accelerates mold growth rapidly.

If you have too many figs, dehydration is the best preservation method. Unlike canning, which alters the flavor with heat, drying concentrates the “nutty” notes of the seeds and creates a shelf-stable snack that lasts for six months.

We’ve learned at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables that the “Breba” crop (the first crop in spring) is usually larger but less flavorful than the “Main” crop (late summer/fall). If you are looking for that intense, jammy experience, wait for the main crop in September and October. The cooler nights of autumn seem to solidify the sugars in a way the summer heat doesn’t.

The fig is a fruit of contradictions—rugged yet delicate, ancient yet constantly surprising. It demands to be eaten fresh, locally, and quickly. It refuses to conform to the industrial food chain’s requirement for durability. A fresh fig is a fleeting moment of perfection that forces you to slow down and enjoy the season right now, because in two days, it will be gone.

So next time you see that basket of wrinkled, purple, slightly cracking fruit, don’t look for the pretty ones. Look for the ugly ones, the ones that look like they’ve lived a little. That is where the flavor is hiding.