The Write Ingredients

Seasonal Ingredient: Figs

(A new thing here at The Write Ingredients; We're going to try to post on a seasonal ingredient once a week. We'll provide information you don't need to know, but will like.)

In New York a week ago, I passed a street vendor who was selling pints of fresh figs for $2. Two dollars I asked him, in a high-pitched, shrieking voice. Just last fall I paid about a dollar a piece at my neighborhood Lund's. But I couldn't buy them. Our hotel didnt have a refrigerator, and try to explain a pint of figs to the TSA agents at JFK. Okay, yes, I brought Thai Eggplants to Denver in my carry-on, but that doesn't seem quite so strange. Eggplants must be harmless. Regardless, I walked about from the vendor without the figs, or the durian fruit, or the fresh basil that was just so beautiful. But since then, I've been thinking about those figs, and wondering, really, what is the deal with the little fruit. (Is it even a fruit?)

So I turned to Google.

The first listing brought me to a site listing the health benefits of Figs. They're full of fiber. Who knew?

And they grow on a Ficus tree. Huh. And, they're not truly considered a fruit, but instead the flower of the fig (ficus) tree.

So last year when I bought the figs at Lund's, I only bought half the amount the recipe called for. It was for a salad of baby greens and other good stuff. So instead of cutting them in half, I cut them in quarters, and my dinner guests were none the wiser. What I love about figs is the unexpected taste. The idea of figs reminds me of my grandfather and his obsession with Fig Newtons. I think I ate one once, expecting a sweet cookie, while instead this strange flavor came through. That was a long time ago, and while I still avoid Fig Newtons, I adore fresh figs. The flavor is fresh and fruity, yet earthy at the same time.

I've linked here to a couple recipes, that I have yet to try. If you get a chance, let me know what you think:

Crostini with Honey, Gorgonzola, and Figs

prosciutto and brie sandwiches with rosemary fig confit