Nice and sweet and full of fiber
Fresh figs are delicious with gorgonzola or goat’s cheese, but also go well with bacon or raw ham. Dried they go perfectly with nuts and are a tasty snack. This delicate so-called sham fruit does not need much decoration. And it is also very healthy.
Figs come in all kinds of colors ranging from white and yellow to deep dark purple. Each variety has its own distinctive taste. Figs are actually fake fruits, just like the strawberry, pineapple and rosehip. They are formed from the flower bed and flower of the fig tree.
Fresh
You can eat both the seeds and the flesh of the fig. With very fresh figs, the skin is even edible. If the figs are a little less fresh, it is better to peel them. This is easiest if you first cut the fruit into quarters and then pull the skin from the top (the thin part) down from the fig.
The figs available in the Netherlands mainly come from Southern Europe. Turkey is the largest producer of figs. The fresh figs are available from June and July. Although you can also grow figs in the Netherlands, there are hardly any Dutch figs for sale in the shops. If you have space in the garden in a sheltered spot, you can easily plant your own fig tree there. The Dutch figs are not available until August and September at the earliest.
You cannot keep fresh figs for too long. So eat them quickly when you have bought them and if necessary keep them outside the refrigerator. You can also poach, put in syrup, dry, preserve or freeze the figs. Of course figs are also very suitable for making jam.
Dried
In addition to fresh figs, you can also buy dried figs. Usually these are Turkish or Spanish copies. The Spanish fig is smaller than the Turkish one. Wheat flour is also sprinkled over the Spanish variant, so that the fig remains smooth and soft and does not stick.
It is best to buy dried figs from September to the end of January, when the new harvest is in the shops. Dried figs should look fresh and not dull. Older figs often have sugar crystals and are hard and chewy. You can buy great figs out of season.
Healthy
A sweet taste is one of the important characteristics of the fig. Certainly the dried specimen is sometimes used as a substitute for candy or even sugar, but that does not make it any less healthy. It contains a large amount of fiber and is therefore beneficial for digestion.
In addition, the fig is packed with minerals including potassium, calcium, manganese, iron and magnesium. The fig is also traditionally used as a medicine for sore throats and the fig in combination with milk is said to be conducive to a healthy sex life. However, there is insufficient scientific support for the latter two.
Delicious with fig
- Candied fig with raspberry
- Celery salad with figs
- grilled figs
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