Dig the Fig!

Traipsing through the South Pasadena Farmer’s Market last Thursday these little guys caught me eye. Not inexpensive by any means (about $4 to 5 a pound) they are presently in season and worth every penny.

The Produce Bible (yes, that’s its name!) calls the fig “one of the most sensual of all fruit.”  It's a difficult point to argue. Just look at one.  Give one a squeeze and you just might feel something I call culinary eroticism pulsating through its skin. A mainstay for early Olympians the Greeks must have intuited the fig’s nutritious qualities. They are full of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron, not to mention being a pillar of fiber in the plant community.

Last week we brought home the California varietal trifecta ~ a variety of Black Mission, Brown Turkey, and Adriatic.  Today I'm planning to pick up more and find something fancy to do with them. Last week all we did was slice and eat.  Which was a perfectly fine thing to do with a fig, ripe, ready and in season.   

Suggested storage tips for figs. Shelf life for figs picked ripe from the tree is brief. You'll have about 3-4 days. Keep figs fresh with cold storage or freeze them whole or sliced for 10 to 12 months.