Figs

[ardcarp]

Returning home from a long-ish Summer holiday, we found our two fig trees bursting. We harvested the ripe ones which the wasps and birds had not already got, and since then there has been a succession of ripening figs. It's been the best year ever. We've had to be a bit resourceful in finding ways of using them. So far:

Eat them straight off the tree.

Slice them and serve with cheese (brie or goats' cheese work well) or ham.

Poach them in a little red wine and a dash of creme de mur and eat with cream or creme fraiche

Make jam: equal weight of figs and sugar, plus lemon juice and rind, vanilla pod (no water)...we've just made 5kg. It's lovely...a most distinctive flavour. It sets very well, so no need for added pectin.

Fig chutney; haven't got round to this one yet


...and they're still coming.

Any other suggestions?

[jean]

Grilled with gorgonzola.

Raw with Parma ham (I just had that for supper).

[amateur51]

Grilled with gorgonzola.

Raw with Parma ham (I just had that for supper).

Could I suggest the addition of crumbled walnuts onto the gorgonzola before grilling? - works for me

[vinteuil]

... this one isn't bad (tho' for me nothing beats fresh figs... )

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roastfigswithhoneyan_92591

[Anna]

Fig Roll recipe anyone? (Actually, never had that, I think it was a 1930s biscuit when people were overally concerned with their bowels)
Figs are cheap at the moment, (unless you shop at Waitrose), greengrocer has then 5 for £1, same price as the market stall. I did try them last week baked with honey and orange juice, was ok, prefer just to eat them fresh. If I had jam on a regular basis (see what I did there?) I might give that a go, but fig chutney sounds better. Could they be combined with green tomatoes?
Edit: Looks like I'll have quite a few green toms to do something with, although generally the only 'pickle' I do is preserved lemons

[johnb]

There was a mouth watering recipe in last weekend's FT for a fig, goat's cheese, pecan, honey and cornmeal tart:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/26610052-15a9-11e3-950a-00144feabdc0.html#slide0

[ardcarp]

Fig chutney; haven't got round to this one yet

Just done this today having made more jam than is reasonable and having exhausted the supply of recipient neighbours.

1kg figs
2 red onions
250ml balsamic vinegar
100ml red wine vinegar
300kg soft brown sugar
some ginger root
two teaspoons mixed spice

Gently cook onions in a little olive oil until soft. Add everything else except figs. Boil away until syrupy. Add chopped figs and cook for another 20 mins. Pour into jars.

It's a scrummy sweet chutney. I dare say using pickling spices instead of mixed spice would give the flavour a bit more 'bite' That'll be the next batch......

[ardcarp]

Fig time again. Starting to ripen a bit earlier this year. Had a dozen so far. Sadly going to be away for a week or two. Neighbours are primed, however for beans, figs and whatever else takes their fancy. Looks like being a bumper year for pears. Very old trees, once espalier-ed but gone all over the place. Never seen so many.

[Old Grumpy]

Can't rival the fresh fig fiends, but I have just enjoyed cheese and biscuits, some with a dose of this (https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/s...and%20balsamic) mmm, yummy!

[gradus]

Figs here are so-so, with one tree bearing a reasonable crop including some that over-wintered and the other tree bare of fruit which may be down to maladroit pruning by yours truly. Pears are reasonable on the bush trees but the cordons are hit and miss and are again badly affected by Juniper Spot - nasty bright orange spots on the leaves due I gather to the proximity of a large prostrate juniper shrub, almost tree in size.
Why is gardening so b****y difficult?

[oddoneout]

Figs here are so-so, with one tree bearing a reasonable crop including some that over-wintered and the other tree bare of fruit which may be down to maladroit pruning by yours truly. Pears are reasonable on the bush trees but the cordons are hit and miss and are again badly affected by Juniper Spot - nasty bright orange spots on the leaves due I gather to the proximity of a large prostrate juniper shrub, almost tree in size.
Why is gardening so b****y difficult?

Perhaps because we so often try to push a square peg into a round hole? A lot of what gardeners do is not what Nature wants to do; the level of conflict depends to a large degree on the gap between the two.
Mention of figs reminds me that the very large fig tree at work I have long suspected has its roots in the adjacent drains as it has always been very vigorous even in prolonged drought spells. It got even more vigorous following the re-opening of a cloakroom in the extension block against which it is growing. During lockdown the site has been closed and the drains have had nothing going through them so for 4 months there has only been available what is in the soil or rain. When I saw it for the first time last week it was very noticeable that it had grown very little, the leaves were much smaller than usual, it was looking tired, and there were no figs ripening. Usually we would have had to do a big prune of the suckers and lower branches by now to enable visitor movement through the back door and lawn mower access to the surrounding grass, and it would be hung with big juicy fruit. It will be interesting to see what happens now that there is water coming through the drains again.

[Bella Kemp]

Start some fig wine now: it will be ready for Christmas and you will have a rich taste of the distant summer - lots of recipes on the internet. Cheers!