Most figs are sweet by nature. Some are extremely sweet with mild flavour or poor flavour at all. Some figs are sweet and have good/excellent flavour. My preference is in the category of Flavour. So what's the general preference of fig friends?

Great Question.
Mine is flavour not sweetness. Some sweetness is nice but i dont want it to overpower the flavour. Also i have had many figs when younger from dads italian club light and dark to me and to me only dark wins hands down for the flavour i seek . Im sure there are some light ones out there that i might enjoy but i cannot increase my plant numbers for that adventure to find one. I have chimera type fig but thats for the beauty only.

Paully and others "please"  try this if you have this type violet de bordeaux. I have not seen a post in regards to this least i dont recall . Don't eat the fig first peel the skin of nice ripe one and just eat the skin ONLY and savoir it you will be pleasently surprised by it, just remember dont eat the fig first .
One day if you do this this summer please post what you think , i did it last season .

I prefer flavor over sweetness.  I like a rich fig with mild or muted sweetness.  Juiciness is also not important to me.  Most "very juicy" figs I've eaten seem to have a dilute flavor, so I guess I prefer moderate to small juiciness.

I like jammy figs.  I like fruity flavored figs also.  I prefer a flavor adventure to a sweet joyride.  I always loved fig newtons as a kid.

Martin, my salutes for a great VdB. I have VdB -- its good but the manner you describe your VdB, it
got to be different from mine. Yes, my son & wife have graduated to craving the smaller figs that provides
better flavor and has influenced my preference. Most big figs are usually limited to sweet & juicy.

Regarding small light color figs I will be watching my Adriano, Biancheta and Igo more intensely this season.
Anyone tried Jon's NSA#1? Suppose to be a flavorful variant.

Hi Paully,
im curious what do you think the differences are , mine came from edible landscaping what they called violet de bordeaux .
I have seen at other venues selling Negronne, the petite one as another just i dont know the difference of them.

I like a rich, complex flavor with moderate sweetness. I can a lot of my figs so some sweetness is important to me. I like to can my Green Ischia in particular. Fresh off the tree it is rich, with a typical 'fig' flavor but something else too that I can't quite identify---my husband brought home several kinds of dates from Dateland, AZ a few years ago and to me, the Green Ischia has a hint of date flavor to it. Or at least that's the nearest thing I can liken it to.  Canned, the Green Ischia doesn't seem to lose any of that complex flavor, and if anything it is slightly enhanced by the tsp. of lemon juice I put in each pint jar. They don't taste exactly like fresh ones, but they have a wonderful flavor anyway. Also, the figs don't disintegrate in the jars and I can open a jar during the winter and enjoy something I've preserved. Besides, the cost of canned figs at the grocery store is insane.

So far, the most flavorless fig I have in my little collection has been Kadota.  

Paul, I definitely prefer flavor over flat out sweetness.  However, there is something special about eating a super sweet fresh fig in Canada zone 6a.
I found lattarula Grimo a very sweet fig versus something like VdB which was wonderfully jammy raspberry.
One thing I used to believe was that you couldn't get "flavor" unless the fig was dark.  Now I know I was naive.  I have tasted light colored figs that had vanilla cream soda tones. 
Lets face it I love them all, just put them all in a huge bowl and lets go sit in the back yard and chill....
Only 61 more sleeps until bud break*...ahhhhhhh
Nas

*based on last years break on or around April 3rd

I like sweet, the sweeter the better. Knock on wood, I hope I don't ever become diabetic. sweet, sweet, sweet!!

Paully
My first preference is that it ripens. Then everything else is a bonus.
May be it could change if the weather patterns change for some good reason.

This is a hard question to answer Ideally I would want a good flavoured sweet fig. Knowing my self the right answer would be Get one of each this way you have the best of both worlds.

Martin, my VdB came from a local nursery. I don't have one from EL, hence I am not able to tell the differences. Looks like I may have to trade
for cuttings to check the differences. Thus, anyone in Canada have a spare VdB from EL  or cuttings for trade ? I can be reached via the forum's email.

Martin,  I have both VdB from El and two really nice trees labeled Negronne from Northwoods Nursery(aka One Green W.) I have a third that is the petite item. Also  rooting some cuttings of another VdB.  None of mine have fruited yet-but it sure will be fun and tasty to check out the differences.  I will try that thing with just the skin.

Paully,  any fig is better than no fig at all, but I do prefer rich and figgy over sweetness.  I like a flavor and that nice little crunch.  Come on Springtime, hurry up.

Eve
near Buffalo, NY

I look for the balance of sweetness and acid with hint of different flavors. These flavors can resemble Raspberry, Strawberry, Honey, Chocolate, Melon, molasses, bland, insipid. Sugars with no acidity will give the fig very sweet and no real flavor.

I like a figgy not tooo sweet taste, some sweet, not overpowering, just like a figgy taste with alot of CRUNCH from seeds!

the perfect fig has an indescribable genius flavor.
too strong typical flavors of specific fruits (berries, cherry) are wonderful, but seem to simple to me.
since I use to drink my sugar with coffee, I prefer a high sugar content.