Well, for most of my life I didn’t. I never even saw a real fig till I had kids, but fig newtons were my dad’s favourite cookie when I was growing up we’ve shared a long history of sorts. These chewy fruity cookies have been popular with children and adults in North America long before my dad was born. Who knew? And who knew they were so easy to make at home? (see below for recipe1)
Figs have always been synonymous with the Mediterranean for me, just a little out of reach but the world has become a smaller place over the years, and probably most of us are familiar with how they taste (even if it’s only from the cookies).
Recently freeze dried figs have come into my life, so my interest has been peaked, and I was curious about whether I even wanted to be interested in them. Spoiler alert: I found am most definitely interested – read on. Freeze dried figs are the closest to the taste and nutrition of fresh figs; next best thing to eating them freshly picked from your own backyard fig tree.
Figs are not only nutritious,, but have been supplying people of ancient times with a life sustaining fruit that could travel far distances without spoiling. A fresh fig simply turns into a dried fig.
It is believed that figs originated in western Asia (think of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan and Turkey), and have been cultivated since time immemorial (at least 5000 BC). Carried by travelers they spread throughout the Mediterranean and as far away as Central America, China, Japan, India, South Africa and Austraila, even as far north as southern Germany and California. Fransiscan missionaries planted figs in southern California in 1769 and they have become and important commercial crop. Depending on the type, fig trees can produce fruit for up to ten months of the year.
They contain substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals such as potassium, copper and manganese as well as dietary fiber which helps with digestive health, as well as with bone density and glucose metabolism. The B vitamins are all present in figs, most notably vitamins B1, B5 and B6. Figs are more commonly eaten fresh, but since that is too far out of my reality, I’m more interested in learning about dried or freeze dried figs. 100 grams (10-12 dried) figs is only 74 calories!
They are eaten Fresh, Dried, as a Powder, infused in a hot drink similar to tea, made into jams and paste, even made into a fig syrup, and alcohol. And evidently, we now know, they’re available as a freeze dried fruit (grown in California).
Freeze drying figs locks in all those nutrients.
Take a closer look – https://shop.wiseharvestfreezedriedfoods.com/cindy
Huh, who knew? It seems Figs are of tremendous value to those who understand them.
What are your thoughts about this formerly mysterious fruit?
My new find: a recipe for homemade fig newtons. Haven’t tried it yet, but it looks great.
I”ll let you know. 2
Warmly,
Cindy Suelzle
- https://www.hanielas.com/homemade-fig-newtons/ Homemade Fig Newton Recipe ↩︎
- https://www.hanielas.com/homemade-fig-newtons/ Homemade Fig Newton Recipe ↩︎