Common figs of the Côtio variety are now ripening fast due to the high ambient temperatures, very low humidity levels and long days' exposure to full sun. Tightly tied up to their branches the natural drying process follows and in four to five days, they are completely dried and ready for pick-up.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Francisco
Portugal

It is wonderful not to have the squirrels guarding your garden ! :)

Beautiful photos as usual, Francisco. How do the dried figs look inside?

Thank you Igor
You right no squirrels here but birds do their share as well with considerable damage.

As for the dry fig insides, it should be as this one  ...

 

Francisco
Portugal

That HAS to be approaching a lethal sugar dose ;)
And all that crunchiness!
I feel lightheaded...

Absolutely gorgeous, Francisco.

Yall must not have birds,and squirrels?

That is amazing to have dry figs on the tree. 

I would imagine they can also be picked and dried on trays for those that don't want to leave them on the tree due to pest problems?

Also do you know if Cotia is the same fig as this Côtio?

Thank you all for comments

Rui,

Yes you right ..but you should not eat a dozen? !

Richard,

Of course. They are all part of the deal and I love them
But there were times - sorry - - long..long  ago ,  when I would catch one or two for breakfast with fried eggs!

Pino,

Yes .... Côtia is the tree - Côtio is the fig  !  the fig tree is a lady! the fig is male
Together with Violeta and some other varieties Côtia trees  were taken in trhe XV century to the new territories of Madeira - Açores and Canary Islands and are still grown there under various names.

These figs can also be picked by hand or knocked down with a specialçl pole and finished drying in trays under full sun. will try to find a couple of old pictures
The great majority of figs in Portugal are Côtios, the remains of the old  orchards producing dry fruit for export.

Francisco
Portugal

looks fantasic!

your climate seems ideal for figs. i amso jeolous, hehe

Pino,

These links bring back memories of the fig harvesting.. some may be still from the 19th cent.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-otIBRb-UK2U/Tg34l10AatI/AAAAAAAAANM/rrE4v9zmg64/s320/apanhando+os+figos+_+A+C+Santos.jpg


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KMUizWVMXYM/Tg34PnnyCJI/AAAAAAAAANI/L8P-Tj_zXcI/s1600/almanxar.jpg


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0nPI8O4sxTE/TtGj1PE1bhI/AAAAAAAADDg/wItWzTuXLOQ/s1600/almeixar+++p+%252B+b.jpg

Hi Francisco,


mouth watering

does all common figs can dry on tree or for some verity only like Côtio?

Hello

Most figs dry on the tree but will fall more or less rapidly as the stem dries.
With Côtios, even after they are fully dried one has to force them down with a pole

Turkish Sarilop variety seems to behave similarly

Francisco
Portugal

Mouthwatering indeed, Francisco and wonderful archive photos.

Here a link for a bigger version of the first photo:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-otIBRb-UK2U/Tg34l10AatI/AAAAAAAAANM/rrE4v9zmg64/s1600/apanhando+os+figos+_+A+C+Santos.jpg

Its good news that Sarilop has the same behaviour - i have a rooted cutting of this variety growing well.

By the way, why do you think the DRAPALG ( Direção Regional de Agricultura e Pescas do Algarve) in their characterization of Cótio has given the fig such a low score in terms of flavor (Sabor - Fraco - 3). Are they referring to the flavor of the fresh fig?
I know they have faults in their work, but they give Inchário Preto a 9 in flavour, so they can, at least, recognise a spectacular fig when they taste it :-)

Hi Jaime,

Thanks for the link.

It depends ... Some say it's a good fig.
Bear in mind there are various strains of Côtio..some excepcionally flavored particularly when pollinated;
Better fruit and bigger. Grand dad always pollinated his Côtios and said that in a good wasp year his crop would increase by 15 to 20% (weight) and to obtain one to two notches up on classification (grading)
This was common already in the 19th century
You must read the long hand written report of Manuel Weinholtz written back in 1883
I believe you may find a copy on the DRAPALG pages

this short video is quite interesting ( comes from Ibiza in the Balearic Archipelago)

Thanks for the video, Francisco.

I've already read, a few months ago, the handwritten dissertation of Manuel Weinholtz - "A Cultura da Figueira no Algarve - Growing Figtrees in Algarve". Very interesting descriptions of fig cultivars and practices, particularly the chapter about caprification and the myths and misconceptions about that practice. Sometimes, it seems we haven't evolved much on that respect.

Regarding Cótio - being one of the most cultivated varieties for such a long time, we would expect several strains with different characteristics. To give it such a low mark, they probably didn't evaluate one of the best strains and, most likely, sampled a non pollinated crop.