I'll go ahead and add another twist to this already awsome post.  Any of you southern celeste experts have a comment on the origin of the celeste?  There was that post about the andalusian wild fig the other day and herman mentioned that something resembling that may be the celeste.  The whole french/cajun connection would lead one to believe that celeste would have come to these shores from France, and Dan mentioned that it has been cultivated in the south since colonial times.  Then again, the spanish also had hand in the early days of the american south.   Maybe a spanish fig to start out with.  Did the cajuns bring it with them from the north?  Just a thought.  And a bit more of the fun of figs i guess.

Martin, thanks for posting the different fig flavors from Ken Love's research. 

The page on the taste on the taste of diffrent figs that is on the link is cool. Well there is a lot of cool stuff found in that link........I'm just wondering how much the taste of the figs can vary do to climate, soil, amount of water,ect.

Hi Bob,
um how should i say this thinking.... Im not trying to school anyone here these are just my observations and thoughts  please. ; )

Many folks taste buds differ in what they actually taste in my opinion.
Also a fig can be sweeter  or more berryier or more figgy or less depending on where its being grown and the weather for that particular season also will dictate how sweet etc.

Taste PERCEPTION varies greatly in humans. Some can easily identify the flavor notes while others struggle to give it an identification. One needs a good calibrated tongue to correctly discern between different flavors. Taste PREFERENCE is a very individual thing too. Some like sweet, some do not. Some like berry, some like figgy.........go figure!!

......and it is not just about taste.  Some figs are rather dry inside while others are very juicy. Some have no seeds, others have tiny crunchy seeds, and still others have large seeds that have a pronounced nutty taste. Some bear multiple crops and some only one. Some bear early in the season, some in mid season, and still others are only late season figs. Some bear over the entire season. And they come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. There are even some green striped yellow ones that look like little hot air balloons. Some have either open or closed eyes that can be small, medium, or large in size. Some are rain tolerant while others are not. Some get bug infestations, others do not. Some easily drop off of the tree, some need pruning shears to remove them. Some have inedible tough skins and others have very tasty thin skins. Some have consistent flavor while others have flavors that can vary from branch to branch. Some even have an acidic flavor which when balanced with sweetness is a great taste sensation. And on and on............

There is so much variety in figs, most fig lovers end up with lots of fig trees.....more than they ever dreamed of having.  Some of us acquire hundreds of different cultivars in search of that PERFECT fig. Keep reading about figs on the forums and you too may catch that contagious fignut disease.

My name is Dan and I AM a figaholic.......

LOL Dan!  We all could join Figaholics Anonymous, but who in the world would want to do a thing like that?  :)

Bob,  I, also prefer a fig with a figgy taste, but I don't know if what I consider a figgy taste would be that, to you.  I don't even know if i could describe what I consider have a figgy taste.

I first ate figs when I was a very little girl and they were figs from the trees in my grandparents' backyard in VA, and I think they may have been a variety of Brown Turkey.  That being said--They were truly delicious and I got to eat them until I was about 10, or 12 years old and I'll never forget their taste.  They were very old trees and I was little in the 50s.

Those are the figs I consider a figgy taste and sometimes, when I eat a Celeste fig that's not gone over into the delectable heavenly taste of very ripe, I can taste those figs from VA and it takes me right back there.  A figgy taste to me is not the taste of another fruit, but screams FIG!!!!!

Herman--When you gave me that Atreano fig to try, I loved the taste of that fig and, to me, it was rich, sweet and also had a figgy taste, to my mouth.  I was so shocked and very pleased by the wonderful flavor it had.  Until that fig, I'd only tasted my gps' figs and Celestes.  That was my first green fig and it was so good.

How would you describe the flavor of the Atreano at that time of the year up there, Herman?  (Oct.)

I think it was Dan who described a creme soda taste of some figs, which is vanilla.  I'd sure go for figs that tasted like that IF they also had a figgy taste.  I'm a little leery that I've gotten so many very dark figs when so many people describe them as having a berry, or fruity taste to them, but it will be interesting trying them out.  Can hardly wait.

Improved Celeste is figgy and sweet and delicious, IMO.

noss

So the taste of figs grown in diffrent climates,soil, ect will just taste a LITTLE diffrent? They will not go from berry to acidic due to soil ph or nuttty to figgy from the amount of heat they get??

Noss, I agree with your idea of what a fig should taste like. SHOULD SCREAM SWEET, SWEET FIG WITH A STRONG FIGGY TASTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. 

Which one of your children do you prefer? I bet you love them all...lol.

My taste buds tell me there are a few broad groupings based on fig taste:

1) The Celeste types .....Celeste, Improved Celeste, O'Rourke, Southern Brown Turkey, English Brown Turkey

2) The Mission types.......Black Mission, Violette De Bordeaux, Native Black, LSU Scott's Black

3) The Honey types......LSU Golden Celeste, Italian Honey, LSU Gold, Jack Lily, White Triana, Atreano, Florentine

4) The Black types.......Hardy Chicago, Sals, Sicilian Black, LSU Purple, Black Triana, Black Italian, Marseilles VS, Dark Portuguese, Gino's

5) The Adriatic types.......Smith, Dalmatie, Battaglia Green, Adriatic, Green Greek, Strawberry, Monstreuse
----------------------------------------------
IMO Everyone should have one from each taste grouping. Violette De Bordeaux is a must have fig as it tastes so good and does well in most Climates.

Bob, I am trialing lots of Celeste types. Get yourself a LSU Improved Celeste fig or an O'Rourke.

Grant, I would not over complicate the situation in trying to find the perfect tasting fig based solely on the opinion of others. Find good tasting figs that do well in your area. Propagate cuttings from "that tree" and you will be very happy. 

Dan

Noss, which fig did Dan say had the taste of cream soda?

Hi Bob,

I can't remember.  Dan, do you recall which one it was?  I think you mentioned it in your thread about what you've discovered with your figs in 2010 in Garden Web Forum.

Bob, I've not tasted the O'Rourke fig.  I have the Iimproved Celeste and it is delicious, but will split in a lot of rain.  I don't consider the taste improved, but that's just my impression because I love the flavor of regular Celestes.  I'm going to keep my little tree because under very adverse conditions, the little one kept putting out figs all summer even though there were only a couple that really ripened, which was my fault, not the fault of the little tree.  Very strong little tree--A survivor, from what I've witnessed right here at my house.

Since everyone around me insists that the tree I have IS the same as the O'Rourke, I don't have one of those because it's a lost cause trying to find one around here!!!  >:(  I could scream!  Jeff!  Help!!!  Why didn't you return my call?  I NEED a real O'Rourke and you know what they are.

I don't consider the LSU Gold an improved Celeste because IMO, it's not even on the same page it's so different, same for the LSU Purple.  I haven't tasted the Golden Celeste, so I don't know about that, but it's--well--golden, so I don't know how much like a Celeste it could taste.  Now, Dan says that HIS Golden Celeste has a closed eye and amber pulp and is very good.  He'd be the one to compare the taste of GC with regular Celestes and Improved Celestes.

I'm suspecting it might turn out that I will prefer brown figs, but we'll see...

noss

Noss, you will absolutely LOVE eating Smith figs.....they are yellow/green in color and not brown.  The interior is deep dark red and they can attain an awesome taste rating. 

I'm not sure which one of my figs had that Creme Soda/vanilla taste. Might be LSU Scott's Yellow.....I wrote about it in that GW thread. I'm too lazy to look.

Dan

What is the diffrence between LUS golden celeste and LSU gold??

Compare them visually here:  http://figs4fun.com/Var_L_info.html#LSUGOLD

Dan, I think you're right--It might have been the Scott's Yellow you were talking about.  I love Cream soda and vanilla and would love a fig with that taste--I think, anyway.  Can't recall any time in my life I rejected vanilla.

Also,  I looked at the LSU Gold and Golden Celestes and the Golden Celeste looked like mine inside, but the LSU Gold didn't look anything like the one I tasted.  It didn't have that color pulp.  Do they change as the tree ages?

noss

LSU Gold is a LARGE fig and it usually has a more flat shape than what is pictured. The LSU Golden Celeste referenced in this thread is not the one pictured in the link. And it is not the one pictured on the UC Davis website. They are small to medium in size and they are more round in shape that what is pictured. Too, there is absolutely no pink in the amber pulp. LSU Golden Celeste figs can get real ugly when they ripen due to all of the sugar spots that forms on its golden skin. It does not retain that beautiful banana color as well as LSU Gold does.

If my neighbors saw me just a few minutes ago they must think I'm nuts. Earlier in the day I drove by my trees and spotted ripe LSU Golden Celeste figs on my tree that I intended to eat this afternoon. Forgot to eat them. I just went outside  with a flashlight in hand and found two LGC's that were real ripe. They were greenish/yellow in color and had few sugar spots. One was dripping honey (they ALL do that during normal ripening times) and both were still sweet good tasting figs. Two trees down from my LGC I picked an almost ripe Native Black. Its eye was closed and was the exact shape and size of a Black Mission. It had good flavor but needed more sweetness.

My fig season is nearly to an end as several frost have caused almost all of the leaves on my trees to fall. It was a good season for me which started in early June when I ate my first fig of the year.......a Scott's Yellow breba fig. This cultivar produces excellent tasting breba figs and it too is an everbearing fig. Three weeks ago there were literally hundreds of unripe figs on my tree that formed all along the entire branches. I am assuming that in colder climates those would have been breba figs for next year. All of those figs fell off the tree after those frosts hit those leaves.

I am studying LSU Scott's Yellow especially for its ability to produce good tasting breba figs FOUR WEEKS BEFORE regular Celeste figs ripen. And it ability to pump out figs ALL SEASON LONG. IMO this cultivar has great potential for growing in short season northern climates. LSU bulldozed the mother tree and did not see the REAL potential that I see in this particular cultivar. LSU people are not into figs as much as I am. What I have just revealed is reliable fig related information that you will not find anywhere else.

 Dan, since your LSU's Scotts' Yellow that you are testing ripens it's breba crop 4 weeks ahead of Celeste, does that mean it's main crop also ripens four weeks in advance of Celeste?

No. The main crop figs will form only on "new growth". So you will not see main crops figs on your tree until the branches from previous year's growth has grown some "new" wood.....this takes a bit of time and delays the appearance of main crop figs. Those early breba figs will only form on old wood from the previous season....in that sense breba figs have a head start over main crop figs.

FYI......most breba figs taste lousy and are not worth keeping on the tree. It is good to find new cultivars which have GOOD TASTING breba figs. That is a very good fruiting characteristic for people living up North in a short season who want to taste fresh figs from their own tree. Dessert King is the king breba producing fig and does real well in much colder climates than mine. My guess is that the people at LSU were not thinking about breba figs and its usefulness up north. True fignuts know about such things and are better at trialing figs.

Dan

It's a real shame that LSU quit studying figs and actuall bulldozed trees.  Was it for lack of funding, or just lack of interest?  I'm sure glad that you took an interest in finding figs that do well here, as well as figs that have good-tasting breba crops.  :)

noss

Dr. O'Rourke bred figs, pears, and apples.  These fruit trees take YEARS to document  measurable results (improvements). That is not a good career choice when you MUST publish to flourish in those Universities. He chose to move into other horticultural areas for career reasons. That's the real reason behind the lost LSU figs. FYI......I have FOUND one of his lost apple trees. I got a chance to eat one. It reliably produces good tasting apples in our hot humid climate. Go figure....while hunting for his fig selections, I found one of the apples that he bred!! LSU didn't even know that it still exists.

Dan

What treasure hunts you go on and that's good you and others do.

noss

I see in reading about LSU figs that many of them where not an official release. I'm a little confused about how the fig trees are everywhere but they where never released..

I was reading that CELESTE and LSU GOLD are both a good bit more cold hardy than hardy chicago, does aanyone now if this is true??

I have two Kadota trees bought at the same nursery at the same time both labeled and I knew just by looking I wasn't getting two Kadota trees haha. You will get to a point where you hope you are finding a mystery fig tree! One of the two was a definant Kadota and the other is a mystery but has awsome figs!  I have had the same issue with Brown Turkeys, I have three: 2 with small brownish velvety figs and seem to be dwarfing 1 that is big grows fast and has huge shiny purple juicy figs with a more melon like texture.. who knows :))

Oh BTW sorry if that was a bit off topic!

My Celeste only dropped figs when it was extremely young and we had a random downpour of rain.

IMO my Celeste has the sweetest figs of all my trees so far and is a very reliable producer through summer and fall here in North Texas.

I will be adding more to my collection this Spring!