Figs Fresh
No longer available
Description
What and Where The Fig belongs to the Moraceae family, home to more than 1,000 types of fruit, from breadfruit to the mulberry. It is native to the Middle East and western Asia. Our figs come from Queensland and, more locally, Mildura and the Yarra Valley. We don’t buy from particular growers; we buy whatever looks best on the day.
Flavour Sweet earthiness, with floral notes
Texture Gentle & grainy
Use There is lots you can do with figs – from turning them into jam, to poaching them with wine to baking them into a tart – but this fruit has such an elegant shape and such beautiful rich colourings it can seem a shame to do too much to it. We opt to simply slice them and add them to a cheese board or a feta and spinach salad or an endive and pecan salad, or, on a weekend, to drizzled them with some honey and serve them with some hot buttered fruit toast and a fresh brew.
Cooking Tip Like all fruit, figs benefits from being served at room temperature – the fridge’s cold temperature suppresses their sweetness and so their flavour.
Selection and Storage Choose figs that are tender and have a gentle, fragrant aroma. Don’t mind a few wrinkles, by the way, that can be a sign of ripeness. Keep in the fruit bowl or to extend their freshness, in the fridge.
In Season From January to May our figs come from Victoria; from June to October they come from Queensland where they are grown in glasshouses.
Historic Note The fig, used by Adam and Eve and prized by Cleopatra, is one of the first plants ever cultivated; reportedly in around 9400–9200 BC, 1,000 years before the farming of wheat and barley.
Country of origin
Produce of Australia