Message 137 of 232

Did you know this is National Fig Week....

Does anyone have a favotite fig recipe or story?

I love this fig butter recipe

Fruit Butter

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

2 cups dried fruit (cranberries, figs, dates, etc.)
2-3 cups fruit juice (orange, apple, cranberry, etc.)
up to 2 tablespoons sugar or other sweetener (optional)

Directions:

As much an idea as a recipe...

Combine two cups of dried fruit, in a saucepan with juice enough to cover. If using a very tart fruit like cranberries, you may wish to add a little sugar to taste.

Simmer over low heat for twenty minutes. Strain fruit, reserving liquid. Put fruit into blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If mixture is too thick, re-add liquid by the tablespoon until mixture is spreadable, but not too thin.

Use fruit butter on toast, muffins, waffles, scones, oatmeal or other hot cereal...

Note: I've tried this recipe with a WIDE variety of fruits and juices. (Cranberries with cranberry or orange juice, apricots with apricot nectar, figs with orange juice, etc.) Definitely, feel free to play with the ingredients and their quantities. The only things I would probably not recommend would be a very sugary dried fruit like pineapple, or something as leathery as dried apple, but if you try them and they work for you, let me know!

Preparation time: 25 minutes
floatingfeather's profile
1st - 7th November is National Fig Week. Figs are thought to be one of the oldest cultivated fruit, dating back over 6000 years, so it seems fitting that they should have a week to themselves and National Fig Week is the ideal time to celebrate these flowers. Flowers? Yes, figs are indeed inverted flowers, so not strictly speaking a fruit but for the purpose of this editorial, we’ll continue to call them fruit.


© Monika Adamczyk - Fotolia.com

Unlike many fruit, figs don’t contain much vitamin C, however nutritionally, they outgun most others in numerous ways. They are a better source of vitamin B6, have higher quantities of minerals, including potassium, and contain dietary fibre than many other fruit. As a consequence of the high fibre content, figs are a mild laxative. Dried figs are also an excellent source of calcium

Historically figs have been referred to and revered from the earliest of times, though we doubt there was a National Fig week. They are mentioned in the first book of The Bible (Genesis) and some scholars believe the forbidden fruit picked by Eve was a fig rather than an apple, which would actually make more sense as it’s supposed to be a fig leaf which Adam chose to ‘protect his modesty. The ancient Greeks are believed to have fed figs to their athletes (Spartans) to induce strength and vitality and the Roman's gave fresh figs to their agricultural slaves to help keep them fit and therefore able to work harder. Not forgetting old Cleopatra with her basket of figs hiding the asp .

Figs are also considered a symbol of fertility in many cultures possibly because each fruit contains between 30 and 1,000 seeds…sometimes more.

Whatever the reason, be it for its nutritional values or its exquisite taste, below are some recipes to help you celebrate National Fig week. If you want more information about figs including origins, history, cultivation, buying and storing the visit our Figs Ingredient Analysis page.

Enjoy National Fig Week and Happy Cooking !
view link
floatingfeather's profile

about 1 month ago
Hi floatingfeather, I learned some things from your article on figs I didn't know, and your fig recipe sounds good. Thank you for sharing.

I didn't know we had a fig week either.You are full of information.
snoweyrose's profile

about 1 month ago
I wanted to make some fig jam this summer, but our figs only came in a few at a time (never enough to make anything!). It was frustrating, but then we learned that our chickens LOVE figs, so we would pick them and give some to them as treats. Now there are no more figs until next year. I'm hoping they'll do a better job of coming in next year!
SanibelLover's profile

about 1 month ago
I wanted to plant a fig tree but wasn't sure how it would grow in TN. Is this the first year it hasn't produced well?
floatingfeather's profile

about 1 month ago