Author Topic: Fig Fruits  (Read 6793 times)

amaqeq

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Fig Fruits
« on: August 11, 2012, 10:50:16 AM »
there are few fruit trees who can be defined as work horses, that means a reliable tree
which has the capability to produce big amount of good fruits year after year never mind
the flocculation in weather conditions and pests disturbances
long fruiting season is also favorable
on the other hand since it is meant for self consumption shelf life is not a big concern
such trees are my first option for planting near and around the hous
one of those trees is the fig
there are many cultivars and much more unregistered varieties
some are Caducous, Persistent, or Intermediate
big and small short and tall varieties exists
it can bear two times per year
fruits size here varies approximately from 3x2.5 (7.5x6.4 cm) to 1.6x1.2 (4x3 cm)
the color varies from green to purple, and inside there are also shades of red
most purple figs here has more complex flavor than the green ones
the size is an minor issue since you don't have to peel and there is no pit to spit
if picked completely ripe it is overwhelmingly sweet very soft with jelly to syrupy consistency and has no shelf life
if picked when firm with just a little give to squeeze the sweetness is suficient and you can enjoy the full fig flavor
acompanied by subtile tart undertone and succulent bite
at that stage the fruit can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days
eaten warm from the tree or served chilled it is yet a delicacy now as it was years ago
since the fig same as grape and others  is covered with yeast spores and since that fruit is loaded with sugar
very soon it will begin to ferment at the bottom of the container where the moist is condensing
and will develop acrid souwer sweet taste that atracts fruit flays


if picked earlier when hard it will never develop full flavor and will stay bland and dry
early picked figs will drip sticky latex which is hard to wash after it dries out
some granmother recipies uses that latex as warts removal but I never had the honor to confirm it

in general the diferent between not ripe fig to over ripe one is about 2 days in a hot weather

Fig fruit short shelf life is forcing you either to eat everything and catch diabetes
or be generous like the tree itself and give most of it away to family friends and neighbors
one of our trees is planted near the road and became a rest spot for joggers
who wants to loose weight and than gain it all up again at the same exercise
Figs are good at breakfast lunch and dinner as a snack for tea or coffee
they  won't turn your stomach when served with milk
and are good for drying, jam making, or cooking.

letting ripe figs on the tree is not advisable as they are growing in dense clusters chick to chick and don't drop when ready
ripe figs which begins to ferment will spoil the complete cluster and drip fermented sirup
all over attracting wasps and others
Fig trees are getting marked by the birds at the neighborhood and they are
feasting mostly on  top fruits which are beyond man's reach
Pycnonotus, Sparrows, Mynas and more
birds don't eat  the entire fruit when there is plenty
they  just drilling into it and taking few bites,  that birds made drills helps the sun to dry the top ripe figs
and prevent the fermented sirup issue

the timber is very soft and frequently susceptible to stem borers
since that tree is a dynamic grower and for every brunch lost to borer there are few new ones
in a way you can use the borers as an natural Pruning workers
yet those workers are very keen and may bring the tree down within a week, but the next year a new tree will
emerge at the same spot from the stem base and will bear few fruits that same year
Fig is a modest tree in terms of appearance and demands  yet it is very generous in terms of fruits
we have here about 4 varieties, stem borers disturbed only one of them
over the last years Batocera rufomaculata was not seen around here
last autumn the wind brought down 25 years old big type fig tree
but we have already made two new ones from the late tree




jez251

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2012, 11:12:12 AM »
Very good info on the fig tree and fruit. I'm a big fan of figs having eaten them a lot as a kid in Chile. I like the brebas very much, too.

I've heard that all figs probably have remains of wasps in them.

By the way, where are you located?

Jaime

amaqeq

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2012, 11:32:03 AM »
Hi Jaime
I'm from an moshav (agricultural oriented community) toward the north of Israel
you are probably right the fig wasps are very small but they are probably there inside
never ate brebas before do they taste the same as figs?

forumfool

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2012, 11:59:53 AM »
More than you ever wanted to know about figs here:

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/

I don't think the wasp remains are in all figs because in many parts of the country there is no fig wasp.

jez251

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2012, 12:37:08 PM »
...never ate brebas before do they taste the same as figs?

Brebas are figs, they are the fig fruits that come out first in the season on the previous year's wood. The main crop of figs are the ones that come out on the new growth. Usually people prefer the flavor of the main crop, but I like the tangier flavor of brebas.

Jaime

amaqeq

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2012, 01:02:48 PM »
Hi forumfool
there are two easy ways to find out if there are fig wasps in your figs
one of them is to search halved fruit with help of some magnifying aid
since the mails has no wings they cannot go anywhere
and at list their remains must reside inside
other way is to grow Caducous or Intermediate cultivars
if you get fruits from Caducous cultivar than most probably there will be wasps inside
same apply if you get two fruiting cycles from Intermediate cultivar

personally I was never concerned with their absence or presence
it is not noticeable either way

presence of fig wasps it is more of a concern for someone who desire to grow an specific Caducous cultivar and needs them for pollination
or want two cycles from Intermediate
or anyone who is concerned with eating tiny fig wasps

jez251 OK
I see, those Figs are called here Foreskin figs if they reach maturity, a scary name
if that is what you mean they are bigger and more bland in taste, their connection to the branch has sometime a shape that might suggest relevance to the above name
only small portion of them will stay on the tree here
the winds will blow most of them
few neighbors here love them, me personally don't mind the lack on sugar
other members in the family don't bother to pick them.
since they lack on sugar, grow in very loosened clusters and do fall of when ripe and sometimes earlier we let most of them to drop


Soren

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2012, 01:12:29 PM »
Figs are great, we got 10+ species native to Uganda alone
Søren
Kampala, Uganda

amaqeq

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #7 on: August 11, 2012, 01:26:58 PM »
Hi Soren
are Fig trees cultivated in Uganda or grow in the bush and sideways
do they reach local markets?

Soren

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #8 on: August 11, 2012, 02:33:23 PM »
Hi Soren
are Fig trees cultivated in Uganda or grow in the bush and sideways
do they reach local markets?

Cultivated here means left standing when slashing; figs are not dried here and therefore spoil easy. Got a real nice species which I cultivated, will post pictures,
Søren
Kampala, Uganda

Felipe

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #9 on: August 11, 2012, 03:04:57 PM »
Figs are great, we got 10+ species native to Uganda alone

You mean they are not F. carica but other species? Interesting! Figs are the only Ficus sp fruits I have tasted..

Soren

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #10 on: August 11, 2012, 03:26:15 PM »
We got some good ones growing here, are not really collecting them but can recommend a few species
Søren
Kampala, Uganda

Mike T

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2012, 04:45:34 PM »
There are many native figs in my area with about 40 species within 80 miles of my home town.None compare with F.carica but several are edible.

Jackfruitwhisperer69

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2012, 04:46:37 PM »
Hi Amaqeq,

Those figs look freak'n tasty!!! ;D 

Oh boy, do I love them figs...I eat loads out of the hand and make Fig jam...which is pure heaven and the best in the world of them jams ;D

My first harvest of figs(about 2 weeks ago) 8)


Here's a 30+ year old Bebera preta/Black breba which died last year :'(...I guess it was time :'( I was most worried about my super sweet and large elongated black fig tree...Thank God, the tree resprouted again :) hopefully, I will haul buckets full of figs in the near future as I have done in the past :)




Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of your life!

amaqeq

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2012, 10:34:06 PM »
Wanted to fix an error written by me before:
in ripe seeded fig fruits the wasp corpses are female ones not mail
(so no one is mislead)

Mike the richness of flora just in your area native and imported amazes me
not only such diversity exists there but to know what and where
are you so familiar with the local fauna as well? mostly one goes with the other.
last week i have seen an grown Coluber jugularis crawling on the stem of a fig tree
he was on its way to snack an egg of our Old maid (duck) he is active over day and a welcome guest here since the vipers are not fond of him
Coluber jugularis can pose and bite in most theatrical way although his bite is harmless
and can only cause little swell, he is not very friendly so they named him here black rage

it may sound bit childish superficial and over enthusiastic, but do you encounter
wild animals at your travels in the area?

Hi Jackfruitwhisperer69
Glad that your Bebera preta resprouted, after 30 years real relation develops with
trees of such a character, what is the purpose of the rope at the top

that year the figs timing shifted a bit, no idea why, it is better that way, each tree started producing at slightly different time the taste and amount stayed the same
but I cannot show side by side different fruits
here are two of them




I only started appreciating the jam made from whole figs while being abroad
when my father sent me a jar.
are the ones in your container getting ready?

Mike T

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2012, 11:11:51 PM »
amaqeq, I am an ecologist/zoologist by trade but have no postgrad. botany quals.I do fewer field surveys these days mostly riding the desk and shuffling paper.I see alot of wildlife and most of it is small here.Other tropical places have a more diverse assemblage of wildlife.There is a good botanic diversity and probably due to the asian communities here,many asian ruits have been brought in.

Jackfruitwhisperer69

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #15 on: August 12, 2012, 09:56:08 AM »
Hi Amaqeq,
 :) Eating the figs from this tree for the past 4 years or so...sure does create a fruitful relationship between tree and fig lover ;D :( You can find bebera's in the farmer's market...but, they are pick mature and the flavor is not fully developed :P I will wait and take care of these young shoot's, so that they will produce a bumper crop in the near future :)

Well, my uncle removed the major limbs and tied the tree, so that this dead tree doesn't fall on the neighbour roof will high wind. In a couple of weeks time, I will remove the tree completely.

I have also experienced a slight charge of the first fig harvest as well. :o The past years the harvest was around June. Now, due to the drought of this year, the figs are a bit late used. What's really amazing is the figs are just as productive as the years that past, drought or no drought the fig are still most productive :)

Your figs look awesome and with a nice blush 8)

Here's mine. 8)




Time is like a river.
You cannot touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
Enjoy every moment of your life!

amaqeq

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Re: Fig Fruits
« Reply #16 on: August 14, 2012, 10:01:01 AM »
Mike T
not surprised at all to hear that
it has to be an serious trade over there
the first thing I have ever heard about wild life in your area was the invasion of
cane toads, Just show how even small stumble can havoc
did you overcome those or got used to them.
too modest, shuffling paper
it is really an botanical cross road for cultivated plants over there


The fruits of the day


Jackfruitwhisperer69
yours look very sweet
the blush is for complementing the jam
those darker figs has it all, small tree, reliable, tasty, strong roots and trunk

are you intending to cut it chunk by chunk from the top, or use the rope to pool
wile cutting it from the base