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California Fresh Figs – Delicious Summer Fare Ideas

Fresh and Dried California Figs

Yesterday I received an expected delivery of both fresh and dried California Fresh Figs, sent by the California Fig Advisory Board. I was about knocked over when two large cartons arrived as I hadn’t expected the very generous portions and beautiful produce quantity that was sent!      As you can imagine, I quickly and eagerly opened the packages to reveal multiple flats of four different varieties of fresh figs and a couple of 4 pound bags of dried Calimyrna and Black Mission Figs.   There are hundreds of fig varieties, but only about six of those varieties are grown commercially in California.    Neatly and ingeniously packed were the following varieties:

    California Figs

  • Black Mission Figs – Purple to black skinned with pink flesh, this variety is noted for an intense earthy flavor.
  • Brown Turkey Figs – Robust flavored with light purple to black skins with pink flesh.
  • Calimyrna Figs – Noted for its nut-like, sweet flavor and tender, golden skin.  A favored variety for sun drying.
  • Sierra Figs – Yellow-Green skin with amber colored flesh.   A newer California hybrid fig variety, thicker skinned resisting splitting during climate changes.

    • California Figs

Fig Tid-Bits

  • Figs are a fruit, but it’s actually a flower that has somehow inverted into itself!
  • Figs contain a natural humectant, a chemical that aids in extending freshness and moisture in baked goods.
  • Figs contain omega-3 fatty acids: associated with a healthy heart and brain function, and lutein, which aids vision.
  • Nutritionists recommend figs for helping to lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure.
  • Figs are one of the highest plant sources of calcium and fiber.1
  • The Mission dried variety are richest in fiber, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium and vitamin K.1

I’m looking forward to trying these different varieties and share some recipes using these figs.     I’ll be doing some appetizers, main dishes and, of course, some desserts and I just may take a stab at jams & preserves!    If you have any suggestions or recipes using fresh or dried figs, please chime in!

California Dried Figs

I’m having a virtual Fig-Fest party with all my Teenie Cakes’s friends, so if you’re reading this, you’re invited!  🙂

During the last weeks before this fig delivery I shared a couple of culinary treats with fresh figs that were describably “delicious”:

Source: 1 Common Fig
Disclaimer: The California Fig Advisory Board shared with me and the Teenie Cakes site, California Fresh and Dried Figs.  I am under no obligation to write or share specific details about the shipment or their produce/product.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liren says

    Wow oh wow, Cristina, what an amazing package to receive! You know how much I adore figs – I can only imagine the feast you will be creating with all these fabulous varieties! Can’t wait to see what you do with them!

  2. MaryMoh says

    Oh my gosh….you are just so lucky! Wish I was there to share 😀 I love figs. They are so delicious. Hope to see more fig recipes from you.

  6. Chef Dennis says

    thanks for all the great info on figs! our neighbor just gave us some tonite, they were delicious! I saw a few different kinds at a meeting on monday, I didn’t know there were that many varieties.
    thanks for a great post!

  11. Monet says

    How lovely! I would be so excited to find a box of figs waiting for me at home! How did you happen to receive it? Did you contact them? I have been wanting to make so many of the fig recipes that you and others have posted, but I need to track down some affordable fresh ones!

    • Cristina - Teenie Cakes says

      Hi Monet – it was a very nice treat. They were very sweet to contact me. I’m seeing nice looking figs in my local markets (a couple of weeks ago they were a sorry lot), so maybe it’s peak season here.

  12. bunkycooks says

    This is totally fig heaven! I think you should make jam and lots of it! Can we turn figs into a tini for cocktail hour?!! If anyone can do it, we can figure it out! 😉

  15. steve says

    And of course fig paste to spread on crackers and to pair with wine & cheese! Another California crop, dates are also remarkably diverse and tasty

    • Cristina - Teenie Cakes says

      Absolutely luv this idea Steve! A couple of years ago when we were wine tasting in Santa Barbara, we had some fig spread over cheese and crackers…WOW, was it tasty and perfect for a warm summer’s day with our wine. Dates? Mmm. Will try that… thanks for the ideas and suggestions 😉

  19. Alli says

    I don’t think I’ve ever eaten figs before, even in the form of Fig Newtons. For some reason, they kind of scare me. But it looks like you combine your figs with such tasty things: pancetta, feta, brown butter, hazelnuts…yum! I can’t wait to see what kind of creative recipes you come up with to use all those figs!

    By the way, thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog 🙂

    • Cristina - Teenie Cakes says

      Hi Alli – about a month ago was the first time I tried fresh figs, but before that I had only ever tasted it in fig newtons and a scrumptious fig spread we had during a wine tasting trip. I hope you’ll give some of the recipes a try and are able to taste some fresh figs before the season’s over! 😉

  21. Megan says

    I also received giant boxes of figs this week (seriously, so generous! I was stunned). I’m looking forward to seeing what you create with yours. Tonight I’m making acorn squash, goat cheese, and fig pizza.

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