Figs

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Ken Anderson, Mar 23, 2018.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    Having never tasted a fig before, I ordered some organic Turkish figs along with my order of Medjool dates. Although they don't taste bad, figs are a bit too sweet for my tastes. The main thing, however, is that they look like some kind of a turd. I have tried them and got that out of the way, but I don't think I'll order them again. I wasn't too crazy about Fig Newtons, so I should have known.
     
    #1
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2018
    Von Jones and Frank Sanoica like this.
  2. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2016
    Messages:
    9,297
    Likes Received:
    10,619
    @Ken Anderson
    Dried figs are far less appealing to me than fresh off the tree. Taste is more palatable, and they do not resemble turds at all. Our little fig tree out back has been trying to produce fruit for several years now, but it takes awhile. We did get a few last year. Fresh:


    • [​IMG]
    Factual lowdown on why we should like them:
    • Fresh figs, especially black mission, contain polyphenolic flavonoid antioxidants such as carotenes, lutein, tannins, chlorogenic acid, etc. Their antioxidant value is comparable to that of apples at 3200 umol/100 g (Trolox equivalents).

    • Additionally, fresh figs contain adequate levels of some of the anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, E, and K. Altogether these phytochemical compounds in fig fruit help scavenge harmful oxygen-derived free radicals from the human body and thereby protect us from cancers, diabetes, degenerative diseases, and infections.

    • Furthermore, research studies suggest that chlorogenic acid in the figs help lower blood sugar levels and control blood glucose levels in type-II diabetes mellitus (adult-onset) condition.

    • Fresh, as well as dried figs, contain healthy levels of a B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine, folates, and pantothenic acid. These vitamins function as co-factors for metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

    Dates taste better, IMO. Frank
     
    #2
  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    Maybe I'll try a fresh one someday, but no more dried ones. They're not terrible and I'll eat the ones I have, but I'll try not to look at them.
     
    #3
    Von Jones likes this.
  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    I like both figs and dates, and after I had some fresh figs that a friend brought us, I discovered that I really, really like the taste of fresh. Figs.
    We have a little fig tree growing in the back yard, but it has not produced any figs thus far.
    I keep hoping, though.
    The friends that brought us the fresh figs from their orchard last fall, also brought me some starts of fig branches. He said to just put them in dirt and they should start sprouting little green buds soon. I dipped them into the rooting compound, and have them in a container with potting soil right now, and once they sprout out, then I can plant them.
     
    #4
    Chris Ladewig and Bobby Cole like this.
  5. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 6, 2018
    Messages:
    11,069
    Likes Received:
    20,467
    Dates are generally sweeter than figs, so I am surprised that you like dates but find figs too sweet. I like them both, but it is difficult to find fresh figs here, so I settle for dry ones.
     
    #5
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  6. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2015
    Messages:
    2,995
    Likes Received:
    4,756
    We have both Brown Turkey and Celeste figs in our yard. I like them fresh or dried
     
    #6
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    Dates are sweet in a different way, I suppose. It might be more than just the sweetness of the figs that I don't care so much for. They are okay, but dates are better.
     
    #7
    Bobby Cole and Frank Sanoica like this.
  8. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2015
    Messages:
    19,089
    Likes Received:
    18,917
    I like figs and think dates are a lot sweeter. Prefer figs to dates.
     
    #8
    Frank Sanoica likes this.
  9. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2015
    Messages:
    55,669
    Likes Received:
    23,301
    Fig preserves are delicious. I'm not too fond of them right off the bush.
     
    #9
    Frank Sanoica and Chrissy Cross like this.
  10. Chrissy Cross

    Chrissy Cross Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2015
    Messages:
    19,089
    Likes Received:
    18,917
    I love figs with cheese and crackers...also like fig jam.

    IMG_2030.JPG
     
    #10
  11. Kitty Carmel

    Kitty Carmel Veteran Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    May 9, 2016
    Messages:
    1,302
    Likes Received:
    1,221
    Don't hate on me for this but I always thought dates looked like cock roaches.

    I like figs but when I read about that wasp thing, I haven't been able to eat them again.
     
    #11
  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    That is SO funny about dates looking like a cockroach, @Kitty Carmel ! I have seen some of those giant cockroaches ( I thought we used to call them June Bugs back in Idaho, but out here I guess they call them water bugs) , and some of them are almost as large as a date.
    Maybe you just need to get the chopped dates, and then they just look like little bits of caramel candy ?
     
    #12
    Kitty Carmel likes this.
  13. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    24,327
    Likes Received:
    42,631
    June bugs are different things than cockroaches, and dates are something else altogether. If you've ever had grubs in your lawn, those are the things that transform themselves into June bugs in June.
     
    #13
    Frank Sanoica and Yvonne Smith like this.
  14. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    The huge bugs that we called June bugs were actually some kind of a hard-shelled beetle, and they could also fly when they wanted to do that.
    They were about the same size as a cicada, and almost as ugly. (No other bug is as ugly as a cicada, or at least not vey many of them)
    The big cockroaches are about the same size, and they seemed to sneak in the house when we have the front door open in the evenings. They are not hard-shelled, and when you catch one to dispose of it, it is easy to tell that they are some kind of cockroach.
     
    #14
  15. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
    Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    13,054
    Likes Received:
    24,629
    I do not suppose that your analogy has anything to do with a date I once had with a gal named Joan Fig. The date itself was alright but J. Fig was kind of a prune to be sure and only semi-sweet. I understand all the Figs were a little on the dry side. To think about it, she was kind of brown but I believe she was just into sunbathing because I do not recall anyone calling her brown Fig unlike Apple Brown Betty down the street.
     
    #15

Share This Page