Figs

My Mother had a fig tree in the backyard. It was a pretty good sized tree and had a lot of fruit each year. But it was never a sure thing that we would get many figs, as the Blue Jays in the Neighborhood loved figs. Well, they didn't really love to eat them so much as just poke their beak into the almost ripe ones. This would pretty much ruin a good fig. We tried putting aluminum foil in the branches, but that didn't help much.

In the end, we decided that the birds could have their share and we'd have ours. Mom always pickled a few jars of figs and we would eat them over the winter. They were so sweet it hurts my teeth just to think about them. It is a flavor that I miss once in a while. Like the Pickled Watermelon Rinds that she also made from time to time. Odd little food items that I don't see all that often.

I have tried dried figs, but those leathery little things are not at all like fresh figs. Whole Foods Market has fresh figs for sale when they are in season, and the often have three or four different types. I like the large pear shaped figs that are like the ones I grew up with, not the squat little green ones that seem to be an alien form of fig. But I eat them all.

Figs are one of those things that are good to be eaten with prosciutto. It's a sort of foodie thing to wrap a bit of ham around a fresh fig and let the flavors wash over you. Figs are a foodie food.

I have tried to grow my own fig trees with nothing to show for it. I just can't seem to keep a fig tree alive long enough for it to bear fruit. I have clay soil and I have added recommended types of fertilizers, but the trees all die on me. I guess I will stick to hot peppers, I can grow those easily enough. If anyone has advice on growing figs, I'd be willing to hear it.

In the meantime, I will just eat my expensive figs from the fancy markets and enjoy them. Maybe I'll pickle a few figs next time I find some.

Pickled (Preserved) Figs Recipe

For this recipe the figs must be only about half ripe and have the stalks left on.

* Large quantity figs
* 1 gallon vinegar
* 2 ounces sugar or treacle
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 4 ounces salt
* 2 ounces allspice
* 2 ounces ground cloves
* 2 ounces ground ginger

METHOD

Soak as many firm unripe figs as you can cover with a gallon of vinegar for three days.

Pour off the vinegar and add to it sugar or treacle, cayenne pepper, salt, allspice, ground cloves, and ground ginger and boil for a quarter of an hour.

Pour over the figs while boiling and cover the jars.