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Andrew F. Smith

Figs

Appears in
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

By Andrew F. Smith

Published 2004

  • About

Essentially Mediterranean fruits, figs (Ficus carica) prosper only in warm, dry climates. In the southeastern United States, fig plantings suffer from excessive humidity, exposure to rain, and occasional freezing injury. In the United States figs are grown commercially in large plantings only in California. The fig tree is the northernmost representative of the tropical banyans. The fruit develops inside-out: The stem forms the skin and encloses the sweet, edible pulp and seeds.

Fresh figs rarely appear in supermarkets. They are found more often in specialty fruit shops and also directly from the grower in areas of local production, including on the Delmarva Peninsula and southern seaboard (near Chesapeake Bay) and in Florida. The fruits are palatable only when fully ripe, when the interior pulp has softened to a jelly-like condition. Full ripeness is indicated by soft skin and limp stems. In such a state, the fruit is exceptionally perishable, and refrigeration is an absolute necessity. In poor seasons with little heat, even fully ripe fruit can be insipid.

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