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Drying Figs


Wozza
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1. Take them to Turkey, Iran, Dubai etc and lay them out on your flat roof

2. Halve, spread on a tray and place in the back of a closed C15 van parked in full sun on a hot July day so no good in August. Then freeze or bottle.

Method 2 works so far but time will tell.

John

not

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Thanks John.

I haven't got the van, nor the villa in the sun, so I am seeking alternative uses for our bountiful fig harvest.

Anyone got any nice recipes for chutney, jam etc using figs.

Our neighbour tells us that he uses them to stuff chicken? Will try that, but haven't got that many chickens.

Warren

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I have a wonderfull Fig chutney recipe that Deby passed on last year(or was it the year before) I have addapted it a little as I found it too sweet.........I shall look it up tomorrow and post it, as I need it to do a few jars of my own!
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                                   Fig Chutney

 

2 ½ cups red wine vinegar

½ lb light brown sugar

1 onion chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh ginger

1 ½ teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

¼ lemon – zested

½ cinnamon stick

1 ¾ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 ¼ lb firm slightly under-ripe figs, rinsed, stems removed and halved

 

combine vinegar, sugar, onion, ginger, mustard, lemon zest, cinnamon, salt allspice, and cloves.  Bring to the boil.

Simmer until thick and reduced to 2/3 rd.

Add figs and cook gently until figs are very soft and beginning to fall apart (30 minutes)

 

Sterilise jars  and Bottle.

 

 

Found this also worked well with those small half-ripe fruit I always seem to be laft with at the end of the season after the leaves have fallen.  Need to cook a little longer and best left a month before using to let it mature.

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Fig Chutney........perfect with a good goats cheese.

 

2 1/2 Lb figs chopped.  1 onion finely chopped. 2 cups  of vinegar(I used the cheap stuff)  1 1/2 cups of sugar (  THIS IS WHAT THE RECIPE SAID, BUT I USED LESS THAN A CUP)  1/2 teaspoon of fresh chopped ginger(I used powdered) 1/4 cup of sultanas 1/2 teaspoon each  of mixed spice cinnamon and salt.

Put figs in a pan with half the vinegar and the onion, boil untill a pulp add everything else and cook untill a thick consistency. cool and put in jars.

I am still eating last years.

Tony, I am not growing any figs.......I wander round the lanes and help my self to the fruit.

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Tony what chance us here in Normandy then if your figs are not ripe.  We have two large trees one in a pot on the patio the other in the garden.  Plastered with fruit but if they do not ripen this summer they will be lost throughout the winter.  Yet our neighbour grows them easily here as she does peaches nectarines and a whole host of things that would be difficult back home.  I envoy those of this forum that are so south of the Loire as to be able to grow exotic fruit!

Finally best holiday we ever had in France was in a house right in the middle of the village of St Cyprien only problem was opposite the bakers and from early morning the bell went advising of the fact that customers were arriving.  Also something really charming.  I am not sure what day the market is in St Cyprien?  However an elderly lady approached a stallholder he must have been eighty.  She said good day and added 'le jeune homme' he responsed la jeune fille and promptly gave her the most magnificient cepes I have ever seen and with a nod and a wink.

Finally have a French recette for figs if anyone needs it.

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Llwyncelyn, in the UK we bought a house and inherited a several established fig trees that were planted right up next to a south facing wall. The trees would literally be leaning over with the amounts of beautiful figs most years. There were so many we would end up giving sacks full away.

This was in the S.E. of England so I am sure it is more than possible in Normandy if you have a protected site. The roots on these fig trees were constricted and from what I understand from the previous owners this encourages them to  produce more fruit. I can testify that it works! [:)]

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Thanks Andy and Opas for recipes - will try them very soon.

We inherited some quite large and well established fig trees when we bought the place. I guess they are brown figs (look purple when ripe, though). The larger ones are ripe, but still a lot of small green ones on the trees. I guess if we have a bit of sun after all this rain, it wont take them long to ripen too.

Now, what do I do with all the Charente melons? Bought too many plants......

Warren

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We don't actually have any fig trees - but we do deals with people who do have them who don't want to be bothered with making chutney etc.  We do the scrumping and they get 50% of what I make.  Same also with friends apple, pear and quince trees, sort of a bartering system which seems to work well so far.

We do however have an absolute glut of plums and vine peaches this year - looks like we need to get another freezer for the pies etc.

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Should have added - fig recipe, can't be strored or frozen but then you may not have enough left for that.

Two sheets of pastry, short on bottom, flaky for the top.  Spread the bottom one with EITHER Nutella or something similar or slices of goat's cheese, leave edge for sealing.

Egg edge of the bottom sheet and put flaky on top, seal around the edge to stop leaks.

Slice figs fairly thickly and place on top of top sheet leaving rim around the edge to encourage rising.  Put it in a 180 degree oven for 20 mins (keep checking) until the figs are cooked and the pastry has browned and risen.

Out the oven, allow to cool and then glaze with an apricot glaze.

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Couldn't find any cloves, so tried Opas' recipe first - absolutely divine. Just did a trial run with the quantities on the recipe and had some with my tea tonight - tastes great.

Up atthe crack of dawn picking figs so I can get a serious production run going tomorrow.

Had a bash at tomato relish too today, but it just wouldn't thicken, so have lots of jars of tomato sauce!

Thanks again for all the recipes.

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We do the same with a friend, we have a large fig tree which has so much fruit on it. We are always giving them away (if we can) we also have apples, pears,quince,plums,blackberries and lots and lots of walnuts. Our friend picks the fruit then makes jam and gives us a few jars of it, we do not mind if some gets left on the trees for the wildlife, the deer eat the apples.

If anyone wants some figs give me a shout!

Vicky

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  • 3 weeks later...

We have a fig tree in the house we're renting here in Norfolk...(we're moving to our new home near Bergerac next month!)...and last year we had quite a few figs.

This Spring the squirrels helped themselves to last years embyo figs which were waiting to ripen this year...so thinking that I'd lost the crop...I pruned the tree back hard...and it is now loaded with figs which are ripening two at a time every day...magic!

I've taken several cuttings from this wonderful tree...and will plant them in the garden of our new home.

Figs do grow well if their roots are confined...and they like a South facing wall or fence.

Bon journee'

Effie

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Im sure some one will put me right,! but I thought it took 2 years for for figs to ripen? memories from childhood I can see my dad coving the small figs that had grown that summer to mature the next summer?

a nice thing to do with them is soak them in whiskey and have them as an alternative/with  christmas pudding yummy........ 

To keep it healthy he always emptiyed the tea pot leaves around the roots................

Oh and to dry them . but on a tin tray (he use to sprinkle some powder  on them but dont know what this was) and put in the bottom of the aga, or on a low heat in the oven 

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