My interest in growing figs started last summer after trying some Pajarero dried figs, and my wife suggesting that I try growing figs for drying. I had eaten in my life only a couple ripe figs and enjoyed them but never considered adding figs to my small orchard, not really knowing anything about growing figs and knowing they were a 'Mediterranean' crop. I have always enjoyed dried fruit, including the apples and pears from my orchard we dehydrated this summer.

After doing an internet search on those Pajarero figs I found this website, started reading everything on the site, and decided that I would add figs to my orchard. I am hoping that next summer I will get to try my first home grown fresh figs, and that in the not-too-distant future I might even have enough to try drying those we do not eat on the spot.

Anyway, after that short prologue, I have been trying all the dried figs I can find and have put my findings into this brief report. There are not that many types of dried figs available here in Western PA but I am still looking :)  Each type will have listed the source and my notes.


Pajarero – these were found in Kroger supermarkets from outside my home area, bulk packaged from Murray's (a cheese company). These are very small dried figs imported from Spain and grown only for the drying process, a light fig. These are very tender, very sweet generally, but the quality is uneven – occasional figs are a little sour tasting. After reading about how these are prepared, I found that they are picked up off the ground then processed, and I wonder if a few are a little spoiled. If they were all of the top quality they would be my favorite.

Black Mission – from Sun Maid, Orchard Choice and Fig Garden Packing – these are widely available, also had some that were bulk-packaged. These are the moistest dried figs I have found, and are very good. These used to be my favorite but now I am often noting a little bit of metallic bitter taste and am less fond of them – maybe I have just had too many, maybe part of the processing or preservative. Comparing them side-by side, I found the ones from Fig Garden Packing did not have that same metallic taste.

Calimyrna – from Sun Maid and Fig Garden Packing, widely available. These are a little thicker skinned, drier, chewier, very sweet with a hint of a fruity flavor. Very good. The bulk-packaged ones given to me in my Christmas stocking (what a wife!) from Fig Garden seemed better to me.

Conadria – I was surprised to find these bulk-packaged at a local orchard fruit store, but grown in CA, similar to the Calimyrna figs above, very sweet,  with a little more intense fruity flavor, the most flavorful of all the dried light figs I have tried. For now, my favorite.

Kalamata - these were imported from Greece, packaged and sold by Trucco, 'naturally sun dried'. Both in a round pack and 'string' packed. These also had good flavor and were sweet but were much dryer, tougher than those others listed above. I have had similar Kalamata figs from other labels in the past that seemed quite similar.  Soaking the figs for an hour in a small cup of water before eating them reduced the toughness a bit, but overall these are not as enjoyable as all of the others listed above.


Hope you were not too bored by the topic!  Anyone else with experience with dried commercial figs?  Home grown dried figs?

Thanks for the summary

Hello eboone,
 I have been doing dried commercial figs in a plastic bowl with a little water on the bottom in the microwave for 90 seconds.
 They puff up and when they cool down they disappear Fast.
 Richard
 Zone 6a MA with Greenhouse

Ed:

I've bought some great Turkish dried online. When they are right they are the best dried fruit I've eaten. But sometimes some have a fermented taste, maybe sorta like you've seen. They are big figs, must be huge when fresh. They probably have to be harvested and dried just so to be at their best.

You can buy 30 lbs for $120, organic cost more. I've bought 30 lbs twice. First time all were perfect. Second time part not as good but I still ate them!

http://www.nuts.com/driedfruit/figs/turkish.html

Italian dottato and cilento dried figs are excellent. There is a dried greek fig fig available, more expensive than the Kalamata, not anywhere near as dry or tough. Compares to the italian, but I cannot remember the name. [Edit: they are called Kimi figs-sweet and tender, very different from Kalamata]. A few greek shops in Astoria, Queens carry them, also Fairway supermarkets. In Europe you can get really good Pajarero and also Cuello de Dama dried in Spain. Most famous italian dried fig is from Carmignano, Tuscany.

Hi eboone,

Very interesting this topic of yours.

On the following page you have some talk and pics of a variety which ripens,cures and dries in its place and waits that somebody shows up to pick it up fully dried for storage! No souring, fermentation, bad taste.. etc .

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/another-good-common-white-c%C3%94tio-6500973

But you need a warm sunny summer and if  you have Caprifigs in the area, the better.

May be with the exception of Pajarero all 'export dry figs' are either Smyrna or pollinated Common

Let me show some pictures of  local dry figs ... a black Smyrna, and a pollinated Common- Both highly flavored, sweet, aromatic and crunchy.

Francisco

Francisco-thanks for the pictures, the link, and as usual great information. Wish we could find those Cotio dried figs here. The above-mentioned Conadria and Calimyrna and the Greek Kalamata all seem to be caprified with crunchy seeds. Unfortunately I won't get to grow figs with the benefit of caprification here.

Steve-thanks for the lead on those Turkish figs. I'll start with a 5 lb bag, but that probably won't be the last.

Thanks to all for the helpful advice.

I have had wonderful Turkish dried figs the last few times I ordered them from nuts.com. I'm not sure what kind they are but they are fairly large and impossible to stop eating.

http://www.turkishdriedfigs.com/

Practically all of the Turkish dried fig production comes from the caducous (Smyrna) cultivar Sarilop, or Lob-injir, known in California as Calymirna. Sari-Zeibek also makes very nice dry figs.

The very high content of fertile seeds on these fruit promotes, when you chew them,  a highly flavored combination, an excellent nutty taste - crunchy - responsible for the 'impossible to stop eating'  factor.

This is also the case when you taste  these same figs ripen/fresh, picked from the tree.

Francisco

I preferred the Calabacita dried figs to the Pajarero.  Someone brought back a snack sized bag of calabacita figs from spain and I bought some pajarero but the calabacita had a sweet taste, they are dried on the tree the same way and picked from the ground but there were no sour one only some that were really hard, the soft ones were way better than other dried figs I have eaten so far but that is only a few varieties that are offered locally.

Francisco this is also the reason why my wife finished all my dried figs... :)

Eli
לאשתך טעם טוב.
אני אנסה לשלוח לך דוגמא של התאנים השחורות היבשה (שחור אינץ
בבקשה, תן לי את הכתובת שלך שוב
הידד

Francisco

Translation?

If you shop at costco, there was a post maybe last year?  about the organic turkish figs they sell, they are better than the other brands of turkish figs I have had around here, more juicy not overly dry.  They sell them around the dried apricots in the costco near me.

Ed,

The Google translator worked out the text and replied:

.../...

Your wife good taste.
I'll try to send you a sample of the dry black figs (black incharios)
Please give me your address again
Cheers

---/...

Those black dried figs are... 'from the Heavens' !!

( 'impossible to stop eating' )

Francisco

You guys probably came accross better dried figs .
But still, I wouldn't eat too much of them dried as the seeds inside are too hard for our teeth.
So I'll keep eating them fresh, cooked (apple+figs + sausage, it was just really good !) or in jam.
I still haven't had enough production to make jam my own way - with big bits inside - the only jam I can buy ... well it says fig on it but to me they are more water and sugar than figs. 
Eboone, you should try eating them fresh, IMHO, that's the best way to eat figs.
If you want to make your own dried figs, you need to choose an adapted cultivars - if the fig it too juicy, it will be hard to dry it.