I just wonder if there is a fig benchmark? I have been following the forum for a while and it seems to me that there is no benchmark to go by. It is like a moving target, it changes all the time. Iam growing these varieties now: h.c.,magnolia,dessert king,peter honey,stella,archipel,negronne,smith,sal c,and 3 unknown.
Because most will be grown in the ground so i have to be more selective what i can grow. I like to grow just 6 or 7 varieties in the ground and 2 or3 in containers(limited room for any more).Some of my fig tree's are 9 feet high and about 9 feet wide.
The point i like to make is that there are so many excellent varyities so it become more difficult to come up with solution in my case. I do feel i am getting closer. What make it difficult is that there are so many kinds that taste almost the same.I just got through with my asian persimmons,lots of them taste the same and also with my paw paw.

The Bench mark at UC Davis collection,when they have annual taste test,is Ischia Black.
Until someone will introduce a clean healthy Ischia Black to the US the Specimen at the Germaplasm collection,is impossible to make produce a decent harvest,due to a Bad case of Fig mosaic virus.
If you can find a clean Ischia Black and bring a cutting to the US,and you will be someone people will be talking about.
Personally I tasted Ischia Black and is excellent tasting,so because I can't get a healthy Ischia Black,I am looking for other cultivars ,that are just as tasty,and can be had.

Edit note:If I had the money I would go to Ischia Island in the Gulf of Napoli ,and look for a clean cultivar,because the Germaplasm specimen will never deliver a harvest.
I have a 7 years old and is still one foot tall.

I think figs are like wine.  Some like wine dry, some like it sweet, some like a touch of oak.  Some like figs to taste "honey rich figgy," some hate "figgy" and prefer fruity replicas of raspberry jam or strawberry. 

Some people, like my husband, cant tell premium wine with mouthfeel from Two buck Chuck, or really good coffee ground from premium beans and roasted at home, from Taster's Choice instant.

Fig flavor varies depending on your climate!  Sorry for my evasive answer, but I think it is correct!

Suzi

Vasile,

My little BI seems to be healthy and free of FMV. I consider myself lucky though.

We will see as it gets bigger.

Herman, so you are talking about a benchmark for black?  What about a benchmark for white? 

Suzi

Black Ischia is used ,as a benchmark for taste,and flavor,at US Germaplasm collection,and Black and white figs are judged against Ischia Black.!

Rafed,

Is your Black Ischia from UCD, or some other source?

Looking at Wiki, it does seem like Ischia is quite developed, and it wouldn't be that likely to find new and healthier strains like what happened with Adriatic.  Does seem like it would have to be some mutant branch that would have to provide.

Also, perhaps FMV helps with the flavor?  Again, Adriatic is a counterexample, I think, but I wonder if the slow growth isn't part of the package.

It would seem that since UCD/UCR orchards are caprified, they cannot and should not be considered reliable indicators/benchmarks of what those of us in the rest of the country may expect from their (UCD/UCR) specimens (at least as far as fruit production and flavor). It is more realistic and useful to establish our own (non-caprified) benchmarks based on well-documented and reproducible results.

I stand strong on this!!  A black fig can't be a benchmark for all figs.  It's personal taste.  There is no benchmark!  The white ones benchmark should not compete with the blacks,  and the in-betweens...  This is nuts!  JMHO
Suzi

i think jon judges other figs by VdB or so i have read somewhere. i think that's a good benchmark. VdB is very good and reliable fig. it can be used to measure others as to how they are doing, taste, visual reference and productivity.

if standard is too high, none of the figs are worth keeping.

Ok then we need a benchmark white fig. Do you know which one it should be?

I agree with you Suzi,
The benchmark lays in every fig collectors yard/orchard.

Pete,
Mine has the letters AD. Not UCD sourced.
On a scale of 1 to 10 on the FMV severity it gets a "1". Very mild case if that. I believe this will go away as the plant matures. It is approx. 18in tall with a little branch forming. I re-potted it into a 4gl. pot using Fertilome UPM.

With a little extra TLC I think the little FMV it has should completely go away.

FYI, I got this from JON, he should have more. And Pete, look up one of my recent threads I started: Ischia Black, you will see it, it is from a couple weeks ago.

I believe I have read of someone using Atreano as a standard as well. I expect people use whatever good fig they have to judge others. It would make no sense to use a fig that you didn't have ready access to as a standard.

Question asked
Is there a fig benchmark.

Quite possible if you cut open a nice and ripe Dark type for pictures on top of a bench you get the benchmark.  ; )

Rafed. thanks for agreeing.  The standard is in the mind of the taster, and it will vary!

So many of you have sent me cuttings, and they are growing, so I am in this game, wanting to see which fig rules!  But what rules my taste may not rule yours.

The question was "What is the Standard," I say there "is no standard!"

Suzi 

Suzi, then for you there isn't a standard. :)

But if other people choose to use a standard, that is up to them.

Not only will figs taste different for everyone, there will also be different ways of judging them. To each his own.

Suzi, even if there was a standard standard, you would still be free to use a non-standard standard.

Suzi, I thought you were looking for a white standard, now you want no standard? My head is spinning, standard speed right to left.  

Get over it Barry!  White standards should stand, and black should stand!  JMHO
Suzi
What is the white standard?  What is the black?
Leave UCD out of the picture, and I think we can agree there is no Standard.  Personal prereance is the standard.

I do think, however, that there needs to be weight classes to those standards...

Best figs 30g and under
Best figs 30g-60g
Best figs 60g and over

It's a lot harder to have a great fresh fig when it's bigger than about 40g, from what I see of those top 10 lists, and I think larger figs makes for a more valuable casual experience as well as being useful for attractive meals.  Normal "best figs lists" tends to be waaaay too dominated by small figs.

There also needs to be way more division of the basic flavor/eating experience profiles.  Best figs lists also tend to be dominated by whatever is the berriest and jammiest, when there are probably many people who want a little something else, like molasses or juiciness.

I think these distinctions matter because people will want more than one fig, and I think we should make much more clear which fig is good for what it is.  I mean, who can say whether an LSU Gold could beat a Jurupa?  Know what I mean? 

For  new fig growers it is just nice to start with a halfway decent beginning.I personally do not like to grow a lot of tree's just to find out that some taste like strow. Old timers like most of you been through this already and know of what not to grow.

Just joking Suzi, I don't care about a standard, I set my own

As to standards, what's the big deal if some people want to use them, and others don't?  I just want good tasting figs, and at this point, I have to depend on the opinion of others. How they arrive at their opinions, while interesting, is of little consequence to me.

Well, Ms Gina, I'll stand by my stupid opinion.  Dark is different from white, and I don't think UC Davis should dictate a standard based on what they think is AAA.  But if you choose to believe their standard, so be it.

Suzi