so i had well ripened, almost drying on the tree Black Madeira today. spent wonderful weekend at a camp out with Webelos boys, showing them how to start fire using flint and steel.. show them how to pack for backpacking.. all those pre boy scout stuff. 

so i completely forgotten about the one Black Madeira that was on the tree. 

after watering some of the tree in the back, i came to the front porch to check on the new trees. noticed that BM was hanging low and very dark. i let it sit there for few more min to finish the watering. 

took the fig off the tree, and no latex what so ever. went into the house and cut it in half. the interior was not as dark or juicy as what i have seen on the forum. it might be due to ripening during the cooler weather. 

the half, i gave to my wife, and i ate the other half. 

the taste: bit of berry, but not very intense, bit of acid, and something else lingering in the back. over all, it holds lot of promises, but as it was, it's not "wow" fig yet. of all the figs i had this yr, i would have to say CdDB was one to beat and BM wasn't close. i think even the simpler taste of RdB was more attractive. 

of course, this is first yr that this BM has given me the figs, so there is a great chance that this will change in future yrs. as always, hoping for the best on 1st yr fig won't pay off. 

since my desktop comp is dead, it's just pain to upload pix now days.. but i took some and will try to upload it later. 

It's cool that you spend time with your boys on scouting and all that you do!  Family comes first, of course!  Figs, yep!  We all want the best, and we share our struggles.  Pete, rock on!  You are doing a good job!
Suzi

oooh, flint n steel. totally cool. teach me too.

That is the down side of BM. It will ripen when it is cooler, but needs some real heat to make it be what it is supposed to be. When ripened with heat, it will have the sweet, syrupy interior and after a couple layers of flavor, it will linger on you palette very nicely. No heat, no performance. Sad but true.

pete, is that a rule? do older figs always taste better than young trees?

Susie,

Yes, typically it can take about 5 to 7 years for a tree to produce maximum flavored figs

susie,

the trick is in the elbow. most people try to strike the flint with their wrist action and don't get good sparks. if you swing from elbow, that will result in better spark... oh and good prep :) char-cloth is a must also. doesn't matter what you use, good prep is always best way to start the fire on first try. when it rains, you migt not get second try :)

as to figs, yes, older trees definitely produce better figs. my oldest trees are only 4 yrs old, they are consistently producing better figs.

Pete: Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Tam