Figs: Maybe you know them from the store-bought cookies or the jam that Ree loves to pair with blue cheese and slather on bruschetta. Or perhaps there's a tree bearing the mysterious pods in your own backyard! Forget everything you think you know about'em. This flower-yep, we said flower-has been enjoyed for tens of thousands of years, but just how the tree produces such a fruity, jammy treat is a true marvel of Mother Nature.
Grown around the world, especially in warm, dry climates, figs can be found fresh at some farmers' markets from about June to early October, or dried at supermarkets anytime of year. There are thousands of varieties that each have their own look, taste, and texture, but a few of the most common are earthy Black Mission figs that are actually dark purple rather than black with a pink interior and Brown Turkey figs (also known as Turkish Brown) that look similar from the inside out to Mission figs but aren't quite as sweet. It's a healthy snack to satisfy your sugar cravings, the perfect pairing to tangy cheese (especially on fig and arugula pizza), and the ultimate addition to sweet breads and homemade cakes, there are tons of ways to enjoy them. That's no secret! What is, though, is how they're produced, and it's not what you think. You're going to want to keep reading.
Ficus carica, a common fig, is a short tree or bush that produces the tear drop-shaped pods known as figs. Figs can range from pale green or yellow to dark purple in color with a flesh of pale pink, bright red, or any shade in between, depending on the variety. Speaking of variety, that's where the difference in sweetness comes into play. Some figs are super sweet and others are more mild, but almost all have some depth of earthy sweetness. With a thin skin and tiny, crunchy seeds, figs are entirely edible. Munch on one straight off the tree (just remove the stem first)! They're also scrumptious anywhere a touch of jammy sweetness is desired: yogurt parfaits, salads, flatbreads. You can even bake figs into cobblers and pies, or wrap them in bacon and grill them, similar to bacon-wrapped dates!
Nope. With their fruity sweetness, figs certainly seem like the belong in the fruit family, but they're actually an inverted flower. The seeds inside a fig are the real fruit!
Before you read this, know that when you bite into a fig, you're not risking a wasp wing or stringy leg getting stuck between your teeth. We repeat: you are not eating insects. Do we have your attention? Good, because this next part can be a bit tricky to grasp.
Fig trees aren't like other fruit-bearing trees. Other fruit trees produce visible blossoms that need to be pollinated by insects in order to grow fruit. But a fig tree's buds are actually enclosed in each fig. Many varieties of figs are actually self-pollinating, but those that aren't rely on a tiny insect called the fig wasp to do the hard work. To keep it as short and sweet as possible, female fig wasps can only lay eggs in male figs. The eggs hatch into wingless, sharp-toothed males and females ready to soar. The two mate, the males chew holes to help the females escape, and the females head off to find new figs to lay their eggs in. So what happens to the mother and males? Well, they die right inside each fig.
Maybe that wasn't so sweet. What's even more gruesome is the thought of munching on said deceased insects. But you don't have to worry about that. The figs produce an enzyme that totally breaks down the trapped wasps before any of us get ahold of them to eat.