First a little background....
My wife has some girlfriends over once every couple of months -- they have a supper club and since Im the cook of the family and the wine purveyor I get drafted to ... well, cook and go get the grape juice. Apparently, Im OK at both tasks because, well, they keep insisting that I keep up the drudge work.
They talk about food. A lot. They talk about wine a WHOLE LOT. They will go onandonandonand on about this or that wine. They ask me, and feeling like quite the barbarian, all I can add is that "Its pretty good" and "I like what I like" ... something on those lines.. while they go thorough and microanalyze every aspect of it... and ask me to open another bottle. I just smile, do what Im told to do, and then go throw a stick for the Lab or something... like hide in my workshop.
I "got into" figs because they (1) have fruit, and everything in my yard besides a crepe myrtle and a drake elm MUST bear fruit, (2) I think they are a beautiful tree by themselves, and (3) Everytime I eat a fig it takes me back to being six and sitting in either of my grandfathers' yards after raiding their trees for the sweet treats. But, truth be told, until this year the only figs Ive ever encountered were Brown Turkey and Celeste. Nice figs, by the way...
This year I paid a visit to a nursery across the state (Just Fruits) to pick up some persimmon (my passion) and pear trees. They have a nice selection of figs so I picked out a couple... One of these was "Dominico's White Italian" -- dont know if they are going to continue carrying it as they have dropped it on their website... they said it was a yellow fig that had a "honey" taste... and by Golly it was just a pretty and well formed little tree . So I bought it.
Honey. I thought about some of you and how you talk about figs and, to be honest, visions of dinner parties ran through my head. Honey. A little roll to my eyes. Crunch. Skin type. Blahblahblahblahblah.
C'mon, a figs a fig, right?
The little tree comes home and the first thing I do is pick all of the little figs off of it except for three to sample. I let the little tree get used to its new home, the little figs grow and last week two of them turned into absolutely golden (specked with brown - sugar spots ?) yellow. Beautiful. Seductive, almost.
I demonstrated some patience and actually waited for the "droop" which y'all say is an indicator of ripeness. The fig gave no resistance to a gentle tug, and so I was going to taste my new little trees' bounty. I took the fig inside and, Ill admit, with a mocking tone I gave myself a little dialog. Heck, I even cut it in half and put a quarter near it like you guys do... all the while making little snarky comments to myself...
Then I took a bite.
The skin/flesh was thick, but tender. The taste was....Gosh....HONEY....not just honey, by Jove, Tupelo honey.... the more I chewed and chewed and savored and savored the more the taste continued to expand. It was a freaking honey explosion in my mouth. I swear that it is, perhaps, one of the best danged things Ive ever eaten. I laughed out loud.
I also must have been talking to myself, because the wife appeared and looked concerned. I gave her a sliver to eat..
"why did you put honey on it?" (all she's had were my Brown Turkey figs)
I just had to start laughing. I didn't offer her the second (or third) fig when they ripened...
Forgive me for all I thought about the endless analysis.
I think I get it now....
Maybe there is hope for this barbarian, after all.
When I figure out how to get my iPhone pictures on here Ill post up the photo. Quarter and all...
J