Feelin' Figgy

The figs are ripe. Not just ripe, but plump and sweet and in abundance. I have two trees which produce, I am told, a reasonable number of figs. I obtain this information second-hand because both trees are difficult to get to, involving treks through tall grasses and standing at odd angles on the levee running down to the bayou. Places where snakes and the occasional ‘gator like to roll about in the sun. Places I am not anxious to frequent.

But these trees are plentiful in Louisiana, earning the name “Louisiana’s Backyard Fruit.” It’s difficult to find a yard that does not have it’s own tree.

So, I freely offer the fruit of my trees to a friend of mine. And I go elsewhere, where the pickings are easier. Yesterday I picked the first of the harvest from the tree of another friend. By tomorrow I should have enough to justify the work of making fig preserves. Not that it is so much work, but from fig washing to final clean-up this will take most of an evening. I tend to make a production out of anything to do in the kitchen.

To bolster my mood for all this work, I sat and searched for more information about this culinary treat. I discovered, as expected, quite a lot. Did you know, for instance, that God Hates Figs? And have you ever once considered the truly bizarre sex life of a fig? I have it on good authority, however, that Louisiana figs do not engage in such practices. I learned that the fig tree is related to the Ficus tree, and the figs in California must be pollinated by wasps but not the ones in Louisiana. The varieties range from “Celeste” to “Lalani” to “Brown Turkey” and our own locally developed “LSU Purple” and “LSU Gold.”

Figs are a healthful snack, being nutrient dense and high in fiber. According to the LSU Ag department, fig puree can be used as a sugar substitute or as a fat substitute in some recipes. They also suggest chopping figs into a green salad for sweetness, adding them to oatmeal instead of raisins, and combining finely chopped figs to low-fat cream cheese to spread on your bagel.

My own favorite delicacy is fig preserves on a hot biscuit - with fresh, hot coffee on the side, of course. But I’ve found recipes for Fig Cake and Fig Ice Cream and Fig and Pecan Pie and … well, the possibilities are as limitless as the imagination. And the fruit of the fig.

So, to quote a friend of mine, if you find yourself feeling a bit of a sweet tooth, “Have a fig!”