Topics

white ischia

one of the best growing variety from the UCD this year for me is white ischia. however, i'm not finding much information on it.

 

does anyone have any information? any taste detail? thin or thick skin?

 

thanks,

pete

Here's what Condit said about it:

 

syns. White Ischia, Singleton, Brocket Hall

 

"As explained above; the exact identity of this variety is uncertain, the name White Ischia having been applied after its introduction into England, where it proved to be especially good for pot culture and for forcing. Barron (1868c) thus gave his opinion ofit: “The little white Ischia is very fickle in respect to quality; the fruits of today are excellent, of three days hence watery and tasteless; the tree bears fruit as profusely as a gooseberry bush.” Accounts of the variety in the southern United States are somewhat uncertain, because of the possible confusion of the White and Green Ischia. Starnes found Ischia White “decidedly the first choice” for Georgia, where the fruit shriveled and dried naturally on the tree in good seasons. In 1948, a tree of this variety was found growing at Grosse Coate, near Easton, Maryland.

According to Eisen, Ischia was introduced into California in 1853 by W. B. West, from a nursery in Boston, and in 1883 the California Nursery Company, Niles, received it from England. It was also brought in as P.I. No. 18,886 of the Chiswick collection. Large trees are commonly found in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and before 1922 there was a small orchard of at least eighty-four trees near McFarland in Kern County. One of the largest trees of this variety is on the place of Mrs. Nettie Sullivan, Grabner P.O., Fresno County, near the upper end of Millerton Lake; it is reported to have been planted by Wilburn Winchell in 1851. In Merced County an Ischia tree is growing in a dooryard at Plainsburg.

Although trees were grown at the early California Experiment Stations, the variety failed to receive favorable attention on account of the small size of the fruit. In good weather the figs dry partly on the tree and drop with little spoilage; they are also good for homemade preserves and pickles.

The tree has a dense habit of growth, with numerous small, short twigs; terminal buds are olive green in color. Leaves small, glossy above, mostly 3-lobed; upper sinuses shallow and narrow; base truncate, sometimes decurrent; margins crenate (plate 13). Description of figs is from specimens grown at Riverside.

Breba crop small or none; fruits below medium, spherical, with very short neck; stalk short and thick; eye rather large, open; color of skin green, tinged with violet; pulp light strawberry; quality poor.

Figs of second crop borne profusely; size small, averaging 18 grams in weight, up to 1-1/2 inches in diameter by 1-1/4 inches from base to apex; shape oblate to spherical, with or without short neck; stalk short and thick, or up to 1/2 inch long, sometimes swollen toward the apex; ribs narrow, prominent; eye medium, open, scales pink; surface dull, with faint bloom; white flecks scattered and inconspicuous, as shown by Condit (1941a, fig. 9, H); skin checking crisscross, discolored or blemished by circular brown spots at complete maturity; color green, flushed with violet; meat white, thin; pulp very light strawberry; flavor sweet; quality fair. (Plates 9; 15, D.)" .

 

Hope it helps some.

here is a pix for Ischia White in 1 gal pot.

Ischia White

pete

    Attached Images

  • Click image for larger version - Name: IW.jpg, Views: 332, Size: 81897

OOPs Darkman is a big dummy!

Sorry somehow I got on GREEN ISCHIA which is not what we are talking about here. However I can't just up and make it go away so read on but Forget about it's revelance cause IT AIN'T!
 
SORRY

From the Alabama Cooperative Extension publication "Fig Production Guide"

http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1145/ANR-1145.pdf 

Green Ischia - A small grass-green fig with dark strawberry pulp. Oblate to spherical. Small, fairly well-closed eye. Good quality but not as good as Brown Turkey. Matures late. Fairly hardy. Synonyms: Coeur, Verdale, Verte

 

The significance of Verte in bold is their belief this should be the correct name.

 

I found it interesting that they said it is not as good as BT which I guess would rank it right up there with the stuff that settles to the bottom of the ocean and comes from the posterior end of a whale. LOL

I might have to start looking for a pet pig. Might end up feeding this to a pig. Per Jon's update, it sounded not too bad...

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/USDA-UC-Davis-pix-No.5-2158967?highlight=ischia+white

Pete

Hopefully the pig won't be needed but go ahead and buy it and we will either have a pig roast with fig sauce or just a pig roast if you feed it to the pig!

Verte/Ischia Green and White Ischia are not the same fig.

Yes, as go4broek has pointed, the Alabama researchers talk about Green Ischia and not the white one. However, the competence of these researchers raises a red flag when they say that Green Ischia tastes worse than Brown Turkey. Either they have not tasted a genuine BT, either they do not have the authentic Green Ischia. I would not wonder if they have mistaken both of them. There are many testimonies of the forum members that Green Ischia is a good fig. 

both Ishia White and Ischi Green i have are from UCD. Not sure if they are different from the ones others have. Ischia White is growing very well with little show of FMV. Ischia Green is showing rather heavy FMV issues.

pete

Sorry Guys I have editted my ignorance but I didn't delete it as the whole pig thing wouldn't make any sense then.

I suggest we just kill the pig and eat it!

pig picking sound good to me. carolina style pulled pork.. nothing like it.

pete

Understandable mistake, Charles. My only concern is...can the pig find truffles? LOL

If he can find Truffles in North Carolina then maybe we might consider pardoning him! the truffles would be worth more than the pig.

Oh and Pete I love the Carolina style BBQ sauce! I use the other sweet Southern style for chicken and ribs but not pulled pork.

actually, i heard there is a program that has started by dept of ag in NC for truffle. it's 15 yr investment. so.. well trained pigs might escape their fate in pig cooker.

 

there is a place called "bullock's bbq" here.. amazingly good pulled pork.. along with many other places this places has to be one of the best in this area.

 

pete

Quote:
Originally Posted by bullet08
there is a place called "bullock's bbq" here.. amazingly good pulled pork.. along with many other places this places has to be one of the best in this area.

pete

Low and Slow!!!!!!!

I smoke my butts anywhere from 16 to 24 jours at 200 - 225 degrees constantly monitoring the chamber temp and the internal meat temp and of course you have to have real smoke. I start with a 24 -36 hour brine and than a dry rub for about a day. I remove them from the fridge and let them come up to closer to room temperature covered and then in to the smoke. It all up to the meat after that. Different fat content and how well it is disbursed through the meat will determine how fast it cooks.

I'm making myself hungry.

Life thoughts:

Happiness - A smoking BBQ filled with meat, a fifth of Kentucky Bourbon and friends with time to enjoy them both.
 
Life - Some assembly required, As is no warranty, Side effects frequently experienced,  Mileage may vary, Batteries not included, Instructions shipped separately and are frequently wrong!
 
Kentucky Bourbon - It may not solve the problem but it helps to make it tolerable!
 
Statistics - Opinions that analyst twist to support the insanity of those that pay them.
 
 

I think truffles grow at the base of Hickory Nut trees, or is it some other nut?  I might do some research and see what it takes to buy inoculated trees. 

Have I ever tasted a truffle?  NO!  But, I just purchased some truffle salt on Ebay, so I could see what it tastes like.  Must be worth the money because of all the raves.

Pig?  Nah!  I'll go for a good digging dog!  Gonna name him "Digger!"  I hope he goes for gophers, too!
Suzi

  • Avatar / Picture
  • BLB

You want a Terrier then Suzi, I hear Cairns are excellent for going to ground

Any dog can be trained to hunt truffles.  Pigs will eat them as soon as they find them.  They have to be muzzled and then fought off.  I have some truffle oil I've made from Oregon White Truffles.   Perigord Truffles are the popular ones to farm because they're so expensive.  They grow with oak and hazelnut trees but the soil pH has to be around 8.  Charles LeFevre sells innoculated saplings.  I believe they're $25-50 each.   Tell Charles that I said hi. His site has a lot of information.  Every year at the end of Jan there's a truffle fest in Eugene, OR where they have seminars on cultivation, dog training and the like.  There's fantastically expensive dinners and lunches and cooking classes..

Now back to your originally scheduled topic  :)

BTW, truffle aroma is fat soluable so a truffle salt may be good but it won't be the full experience.

How is it you come to the fig forum, wondering about Ischia White, then you get distracted wanting to start a new hobby growing truffles?  I bet our climate won't support them.  If they grow in Oregon, probably we don't get enough rain.
Suzi



That's probably my fault when I derailed everything writing about Green Ischia instead of White Ischia. My post referenced a comparison to BT which some of the community think is only good for pig food. Pete then declared he may need a pig. Having cleared the whole Green White issue we had to do something with the pig and I suggested eating him however an alternative thought was perhaps he could be saved if he could find truffels and was temporarily spared. It was then pointed out that Man's Best Friend could do the job better and we wouldn't have to fight the dog for the truffels of course this is all pending on there being truffels near Pete's place which he pondered growing to save the pig. Personally I'm still infavor of eating the pig with some nice Ischia white fig sauce.

Hey Pete do you kow anything about the growth habits of Ischia White?

Charles,

Up here in NC, Ischia White is growing well. Much better than truffle.

Among the cuttings I have from UCD, Ischia White is one of the fastest. Other is Calvert, however, Ischia White show less FMV.

Amazingly enough, Blk Mad actually show best leaves among the bunch.

Pete

Reply Cancel
Subscribe Share Cancel