My best friend who lives in California was just in town for a visit. Lucky for me, it's fig season.
See, Marilyn has a habit of bringing fresh figs from a tree in her backyard. She tucks them in an empty egg carton, one per hole, and puts the carton in her carry-on. For her (and the rest of California), figs are no big deal—California is Fig Central, accounting for more than 95 percent of the U.S. crop. But figs are fragile, so the bulk of that fresh crop ends up processed. Which means that fresh, ripe figs are rare treasures for those of us not in the Golden State.
When Kristie Knoll and her husband, Rick, bought their farm north of San Francisco in 1979, neither of them had ever eaten a fresh fig. "But we knew we liked Fig Newtons, so we figured we could make cookies out of them," she said. There are 600 fruit trees at Knoll Farms, many of them fig trees. Needless to say, they like figs now.
Here's a little Fig 101 based on my conversation with Kristie Knoll. Should you come across fresh figs without an assist from a friend like mine, heed Knoll's advice in choosing and storing them—and consider yourself lucky.
Two seasons of figs
Figs are actually in their second season right now. The brief first crop from June to July grows on the previous year's wood. The second crop gets going in August, crescendos in September and typically runs through October, Knoll says.
There's an order to which certain fig varieties come in, too, depending on location. Some types, such as the Brown Turkey, continue to produce all the way until, well, Turkey Day in November.
Get in touch
When choosing figs, give them a gentle squeeze (emphasis on gentle). Figs are thin-skinned and perishable. You're looking for a little give; a ripe fig is soft but not mushy.
Does the fig have wrinkly skin? That isn't necessarily a bad thing, because, as Knoll says, "the sweetness will have concentrated in that fig."
If you see a dewy drop oozing from the underside or "eye" of the fig, you've hit the jackpot in terms of ripeness. "Those are killer," Knoll says: ripe, gushy, and sweet.
The difference in where you buy
While fresh figs at the farmers market are picked ripe or this close to it, figs from the supermarket are picked firm so they can travel. Leave the latter on the counter at home for a day to soften up before refrigerating them, Knoll said.
But before you refrigerate them...
If any figs do have that telltale dewy bottom, "eat those suckers now," Knoll said.
Remove the rest from the basket or container they came in and set them on their sides on a paper towel-lined plate. Why their sides? Figs ripen from the bottom up, so the bum end is softer than the shoulders, Knoll said.
Figs keep for about a week in the fridge.
Freezer tip
Figs are totally freezable. Do this in two steps as you would berries. Set them out in a layer on a parchment- or wax-lined baking sheet and pop that into the freezer until solid. Then, place the frozen figs into freezer bags or, Knoll's preference, an airtight glass container.
What's your type?
Here are some of the most popular fig varieties:
Black Mission Purple-black skin and pink, sweet flesh.
Brown Turkey Brownish purple skin and pink flesh. Milder than the Black Mission.
Calimyrna Large with pale yellow skin. Flesh is light pink and nutty flavored.
Kadota Light green skin with a delicate, not as sweet flavor.
