Hey all. A very popular question among the forum is : "How do I know if the fig is ripe enough to pick?"
This could get even trickier when you have a light green or white variety of fig in your hands.
I took a few photos of my Peter's Honey Breba figs within the last week and all the noticeable stages are a day apart. Only the second pic was taken a while back when the brebas were still on their first stages of growing. Note that this variety has a very thick skin / outer layer and looks and softness of the fig can be deceiving. Also note the pattern in which the color changes, how quick the fig swells and droops! I hope this can help a bit. I'm also learning still, since all varieties behave in much different ways but the main signs to look for are very similar. Photos of the cut fruit to follow soon!!
Thanks for reading.
Best regards to all.

I found that to be true on Bourjasotte Gris.  The first batch was not ripe, but kinda sweet.  With more knowledge I now wait until they go purple/brown and get a few cracks.  They droop when yellow, but I'm learning that they are not ripe yet.

When they are the proper color, they are very sweet clear to the stem.

Suzi

To be continued?  What?? That was so anitclimactic!!! (-1)
(you'll get the 1 back with a ripe fruit pic)  :)

Sometimes you can also use the sheen of the skin as a ripeness guage. When it starts to lose sheen and get a more dull appearance up by the neck it has reached a different level ripeness.

It should droop limply, straight down and be soft.  When you cut it open there should be no opaque white "meat" surrounding the pulp.  It should be translucent if it's there at all.

Ripe fig color varies with sunlight and temperature so it's not always a reliable way to tell.

Ha, sorry Calvin. I was going to cut and present the most ripe one this morning but the Mrs got to it first so we all have to wait for the next of kin and it is so close to perfect but could probably use another day or so on the tree. I did tell the rest of the Ks not to eat the remaining brebas before I take a few pics and hopefully they ll listen. When it comes to figs there are no guarantees my friend and birds and squirrels are not the only threats!!! Lol.

Great points Bob and with PH even though it droops and feels soft you can tell that it needs a bit more time when squeezing it and feels kind of spongy and rubbery.

I've had 3 PH brebas over the past 2 weeks and neither had any taste.  Each were semi-sweet but no wow factor.  The main crop will be different.  Trust me.

Well I apologize once more for the delay and here are the pics of the perfectly ripe and absolutely delicious PH Breba. Very well worth the wait. Little miss K ate the two pieces on the left,mom K got the ones on the right and Chris K once again the one in the middle and the skins that were totally tasty also. It was very sweet with a strong fig taste and not too crunchy and if anything you could say that it had a hint of cantaloupe kick to it. I know one thing though. I will be buying each and every PH that comes my way!! Love it and it is not even the main crop.

Very nice Chris........

Thanks John.