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What's a really good tasting fig for zone 8? Northern California

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Lyn38:
What's a really good tasting fig for zone 8? It varies between 8a and 8b, about once every 10 years we get pretty cold but it always warms up a bit in the day. Northern California

My friends have figs, I can get a cutting, but either they're not that good or I'm kind of meh about figs. Not sure. They seem watery and kind of insipid to me. I do like fig newtons.. I'll be planting 2 trees next year, mostly to help with erosion on a spring seep that dries up for about 1 -2 months a year.

Sue:
I'm not sure if it'll grow in Zone 8, but I really like my Celeste fig variety (I used to not like figs because I found them bland). The Celeste is very sweet, it doesn't have any berry flavor; a lot of people prefer figs with a berry flavor, but I prefer a pure sugar flavor :) A lot of people also really like Violette de Bordeaux (very sweet with a berry flavor), I used to have that one, but I didn't like it because I didn't like the berry/acid component.

Lyn38:
Thank you and thank you for the taste description. Does the celeste taste rich as well?

I think I know what you mean by the berry flavor. My friend's has a slight tang, but it's not a great tang, and I usually like tang. It's almost like a mineral tang like it came out of a can or something.

Sue:
Yes, I think the Celeste has a rich "sugar" taste, it reminds me a bit of a date in terms of sweetness.

Regarding Violette de Bordeaux, I wouldn't say it's a "mineral tang", just a note of sourness mixed in with the sweetness.  Many people like Violette de Bordeaux and I often see it listed as a top 10 fig variety, so if you enjoy some acid/sugar balance, you may actually like Violette de Bordeaux.  I just happen to prefer Celeste because I love dates and the Celeste fig is the only fig I've tasted that came closest to tasting like a date :)

Lyn38:
That's interesting. I looked up Celeste and 5 - 10 ft tall it's shorter than I want for where I want to put the figs but I have another place it would possibly do well. Do you know which variety of Celeste? Seems like there are different varieties. There is also a different one called Black Celeste which supposedly has a strong berry flavor unlike the others and is supposed to be very good.

I think fig newtons almost taste like a date and one of the reasons I'm not nuts about figs is I think I expect them to taste like a date. Maybe I had a good Celeste when I was a kid.. ??

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