First Fig
Some months back I was mentioning my fig tree here and was subsequently informed by someone (who shall remain nameless, but she knows who she is!), that I would not get any figs because of the absence of the wasp that customarily pollinates the flowers. Rather than argue with someone on the internet (a fruitless endeavor if ever there was one, no pun intended), I decided to bide my time and post proof that indisputably demonstrated that I was right when it became available. And now here we are!
The variety: "Desert King", a San Pedro type, that gets a "breba" [early] crop of figs that do not require pollination. My older brother created this from a cutting of his own tree about four years ago, and this is the first time that fruits have appeared. Location: Northern Ohio, zone 5b/6a.
Today I finally harvested my first fig. It's not easy to know the optimal time to pick one - the type I have really doesn't change color; it only starts to sag and then soften. Figs gain a lot of sweetness during the last couple days of ripening but do not continue to ripen after being picked, so if you pick them too soon, you miss out on flavor and sweetness. I had been monitoring this one for the last couple of days, checking it, poking it, squeezing it, and decided it was time. It came off readily enough, with no sap bleeding out, which was a good sign.
It ended up being a decent size; certainly, it is the largest one on the tree currently:
As is the tradition, I sliced it longitudinally in halves for further inspection. The inside didn't look as dark as I expected, and the skin seemed thicker as well:
It was sweet and juicy of course, but still very mild. I attempted to chew slowly and carefully assess the flavor. Initially, I detected melon, and for the life of me, from beginning to end, the flavor profile was indistinguishable from a cantaloupe. If someone had given me a blindfold taste-test, fed me a one and told me that's what it was I totally would have believed them. Other varieties probably taste somewhat different.
I will get about a dozen figs over the next couple weeks, many more this fall if the "main crop" actually ripens (the main crop is supposed to require pollination from a wasp that does not live in north america. However, I have read several online reports that some of them of this variety manage to ripen anyway, so rather than pinching the developing main crop off like most people do, I am going to leave them be and see what happens).
Anyway, it is pretty thrilling to get fresh figs up here, and if I get enough, there is a recipe for baked figs with honey, cinnamon and rosemary I want to try. And for the rest of you, perhaps you will be encouraged to give figs a shot!
The variety: "Desert King", a San Pedro type, that gets a "breba" [early] crop of figs that do not require pollination. My older brother created this from a cutting of his own tree about four years ago, and this is the first time that fruits have appeared. Location: Northern Ohio, zone 5b/6a.
Today I finally harvested my first fig. It's not easy to know the optimal time to pick one - the type I have really doesn't change color; it only starts to sag and then soften. Figs gain a lot of sweetness during the last couple days of ripening but do not continue to ripen after being picked, so if you pick them too soon, you miss out on flavor and sweetness. I had been monitoring this one for the last couple of days, checking it, poking it, squeezing it, and decided it was time. It came off readily enough, with no sap bleeding out, which was a good sign.
It ended up being a decent size; certainly, it is the largest one on the tree currently:
As is the tradition, I sliced it longitudinally in halves for further inspection. The inside didn't look as dark as I expected, and the skin seemed thicker as well:
It was sweet and juicy of course, but still very mild. I attempted to chew slowly and carefully assess the flavor. Initially, I detected melon, and for the life of me, from beginning to end, the flavor profile was indistinguishable from a cantaloupe. If someone had given me a blindfold taste-test, fed me a one and told me that's what it was I totally would have believed them. Other varieties probably taste somewhat different.
I will get about a dozen figs over the next couple weeks, many more this fall if the "main crop" actually ripens (the main crop is supposed to require pollination from a wasp that does not live in north america. However, I have read several online reports that some of them of this variety manage to ripen anyway, so rather than pinching the developing main crop off like most people do, I am going to leave them be and see what happens).
Anyway, it is pretty thrilling to get fresh figs up here, and if I get enough, there is a recipe for baked figs with honey, cinnamon and rosemary I want to try. And for the rest of you, perhaps you will be encouraged to give figs a shot!