i know most of us like the figs rather ripe. this gives that jam like internal and concentrated sugar. giving better taste.

however, it seems figs from other oversea members showing not as fully.. aged figs as what we normally see in the posts from US members. specifically francisco (lampo).

from the rather wonderful pictures of jd, martin, and herman, i see well ripen figs with jam like pulp and flesh. but francisco's figs are more.. defined. showing that figs before the turn.. jammy. pulp is clearly defined and flesh intact which shows wonderful figs in full glory.

is it personal preference in this case? or is it that fig wasp does something to keep the interior more defined/firm when fully ripen?

those members in CA who havw benefit of having fig wasps, does it make difference if you do not let your fig hang on the tree until it's well winkled and turned jammy?

just wondering. i know i like the figs little on firm side, but the taste is definitely better is i like them stay on the tree longer. to balance the two, i usually take the fig off the tree as soon as they start to hang slightly, still giving firmness, but it's ripen through out.. which is little hard to do with long figs.

People in actual medit climates with wasps grow better figs.  They really don't have to put up with certain cultivars, thinking Hollier and Atreano, given what I read, needing to be dead ripe to be great.  

I think another issue is that large figs are much more prone to water damage from rot or explodey fruits.  And large fruit is what's commercially acceptable over there...35g being "medium" here is "tiny" over there.  So I can guess that high quality at maturity is one key quality that gets trees planted and allows seedlings to live.

look pete, as long as you're talking about it, talk to me about judging ripeness please. my new paradisio has 2 figs that have become soft. last week they were hard and green, today the bottom half is kinda orange yellow and they are soft.

this is a big deal to me as i've never tasted a fresh fig, ever. with just 2 figs, there's not a lot of room for experimentation.

what do you think?

ps: tmc2009 has a vid posted, with one of the figa looking like mine, but the sound thing on my comp is busted, so i can't hear what he's saying. i won't get a new screen till monday, so that info is currently unavailable to me

Pete, the non-jammy pix are from people with low self-control. They just can't help picking them before they are fully ripe. ;-))

Even with wasps I prefer my figs in the jammy state.  Last night we had some figs for dessert while dad was over for dinner.  He thought my jammy figs were over-ripe but I thought they were perfect.  I remember when he once had one of the jammy figs I gave him make a mess on his shirt and he was quite disgusted but I told him that was because it was a very good and ripe fig.  He didn't buy it.  I think it's just personal preference.

susie, i'm finding that depends on the weather condition, the figs will look different when they are ripen, at least for Paradiso Gene.

here is my Paradiso Gene this yr when we had ton of rain.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1279090873&postcount=1

here is one ripen in full sun during much drier season.

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/show_single_post?pid=1274417305&postcount=1

as you can see they are both ripen. last yr's PG was cleaner looking and not as jammy. but. it hung more than this yr's and softer to touch.

thanks pete. that's what i needed. i guess i can wait a bit, since the birds have fled the drought.

Susie, how exciting! Please post on the experience of eating your first fresh fig.

Pressure from the birds has caused me to eat many a fig under ripe in order to get something before the birds eat them all.

I greatly prefer the shriveled up jammy stage. But even in my greenhouse with no rain or pests some varieties get to that state and some never would. Strawberry Verte shrivels up great. Black Jack won't get the job done. Partly size and maybe something else. Paradiso is very similar to Strawberry Verte.

Here's the other deal, the big watery figs just don't compete with my other fruits; nectarine, apricot, and pluot in particular. Strawberry Verte tastes similar to my favorite nectarines.

Could anyone list some varieties that shrivel up nicely with great flavor and sweetness?

i'm gonna post my first experience later today or tomorrow. if it's great. i can't wait any longer. i'll try one ripe, then see if the other shrivels.thanks for that info steve.