I did a search on "favorite" and it came back empty.

So I'm almost afraid to ask... but as a newcomer to growing figs, and given the large number of varieties available, it would be really useful information to have.

Currently, do you have a favorite variety? If so, what makes it your favorite?

Search again. There is a pageful of links to the word.

Indeed there is, when you do the search from the main page.  Searching while reading a thread only searches the current thread.  I didn't realize that. Thanks!

Figs taste profile behave differently, at least in my zone. Last year my favourites were RdB, Granthams Royal and Brunswick.
Other years have been I258, Aubique Petite, Gypsy, Enrico etc. I suppose it depends where I locate my pots too. I have
sample awesome tasting H.Chicago, VdB, Dark Portuguese from other zones and they were awesome.
 

Last year:  Longue d'Aout, Preto, Atreano.  These all have distinct flavors.

My favourite changes every year based on new figs that come into production and the weather for that year.

Maybe the question should be what figs don't people like?

In my case the only figs I didn't like are the few that regardless of the pampering and attention they refuse to ripen properly. 

Maybe I should explain the purpose better and modify my question slightly. As a newcomer, faced with the wide selection available, but with limited resources of time, space and money, I want to make good informed choices of what to grow my first year. Obviously taste is one of the biggest factors, but so is productivity, consistency from harvest to harvest, mold and insect susceptibility, and availability of the variety as well as cost. I am sure there are other issues that I've missed, that are also important. So if I may modify the question to be, if you had to choose one and only one variety to grow this year, what would it be, and equally important to me, why??

I think the climate is the biggest factor in your decision. The other is yes Ebay has a lot of fig cuttings to buy from. But, many do not ship international. I read on a seller's rating that a customer complained that it took 30 days to get his cuttings and blamed the seller. The customs officials can hold the cuttings for a long time. I believe that Asia has its own Ebay for your area. So you may find some good ones there..???

Every named fig variety at one point in time, and in a certain location, must have been someone's favorite fig.  I agree with Armando that the climate/location is a huge factor.  Try to reach out to other fig growers in your area to see what their favorites are.

I totally get that climate will play a major role in the outcome. In my case I will hopefully achieve close to the ideal by growing them in "self watering" SIPs in a well ventilated greenhouse. Sunlight and humidity will of course still be variables I can't control, at least not cost effectively. Using local suppliers as a reference point begs the question are they recommending what they currently are producing because they have it available, or because it's really the best variety to grow here? Also, compared to the vast amount of experience the members here on F4F have compared to the more limited selection that has been available here in Thailand, I'm more likely to get recommendations to varieties as yet unknown here, or at least that's my thinking.

Check with the real spelling "favourite", not the short cut 'favorite' !

I ask Mr James Robin this exact same question.  What is your favorite fig?  He said this and I agree, "my favorite fig is the current one that's in my mouth!"

You're not going to get a favorite fig.

For Thailand:  Panachee and Hollier would be my guess.  Depends on where you are in Thailand, though.

[QUOTE=snaglpus]I ask Mr James Robin this exact same question.  What is your favorite fig?  He said this and I agree, "my favorite fig is the current one that's in my mouth!"[/QUOTE]

I'm going to say that this is without doubt the best answer ever!  Dennis, thank you for burning that into my head, it will be my standard answer from here on out.

Scott

A fully ripe lsu gold is a winner for sure. There are lost of fig with fancy name leaves and color but this fig grown properly really is sweet and fat.

Panache tends to split in high humidity areas.  You can also contact this guy - he has lots of varieties and if your import authorities allow he does sell cuttings.

https://www.facebook.com/figmalaysia?ref=br_tf

[QUOTE=snaglpus]I ask Mr James Robin this exact same question.  What is your favorite fig?  He said this and I agree, "my favorite fig is the current one that's in my mouth!"[/QUOTE]

I added this to my Facebook favorite quotes, but it still doesn't help me choose what variety to order next:)

[QUOTE=paully22]Figs taste profile behave differently, at least in my zone. Last year my favourites were RdB, Granthams Royal and Brunswick.
Other years have been I258, Aubique Petite, Gypsy, Enrico etc. I suppose it depends where I locate my pots too. I have
sample awesome tasting H.Chicago, VdB, Dark Portuguese from other zones and they were awesome.
 [/QUOTE]

Thanks for the list. Some I'd heard of, and two I've even got growing now. The others I'll keep a lookout for.

[QUOTE=FiggyFrank]Last year:  Longue d'Aout, Preto, Atreano.  These all have distinct flavors.[/QUOTE] OK sounds like I must give each a try then. Thanks for the feedback.

[QUOTE=Rewton]Every named fig variety at one point in time, and in a certain location, must have been someone's favorite fig.  I agree with Armando that the climate/location is a huge factor.  Try to reach out to other fig growers in your area to see what their favorites are.[/QUOTE]

Heh heh I reached out to a local grower and she gave me a list a mile long!

[QUOTE=OttawanZ5]Check with the real spelling "favourite", not the short cut 'favorite' ![/QUOTE]
But then I'd get recommendations from people growing figs near the Arctic circle, whose chief selection criteria would be the figs can ripen in the 8 week break between winter and winter :P

[QUOTE=figpig_66]A fully ripe lsu gold is a winner for sure. There are lost of fig with fancy name leaves and color but this fig grown properly really is sweet and fat. [/QUOI'll add it to my ever growing list of things to look out for. Thanks.

[QUOTE=ThaiFig][QUOTE=figpig_66]A fully ripe lsu gold is a winner for sure. There are lost of fig with fancy name leaves and color but this fig grown properly really is sweet and fat. [/QUOTE] I'll add it to my ever growing list of things to look out for. Thanks.[/QUOTE]

As a new fig grower myself, I can understand your frustration. You have to pick one fig to grow without ever having tasted it. Yes, they're all good, but which one to choose? Local nurseries just sell what is big, productive, pretty and don’t care about taste. What’s helped me is deciding which of the tastes of figs I prefer. This article might be helpful as a start, especially since the writer is growing figs in a hot and humid environment -perhaps similar to yours?:

“Choosing Fig Varieties......by their taste (flavor)”

http://cajunfigs.blogspot.com/2012/05/choosing-figsby-their-taste.html

AltadenaMara I've seen that article before, probably when I was new to figs, but now I know that everyone has specific likes and dislikes. 

I don't agree with cajunfig on Violette De Bordeaux.  That is a cold weather fig, and it's leaves shrivel in our heat and although it was my first fig and I have two planted on property, neither one pleases JD or I.  The figs are dry and small.  They taste good, but not as good as VERTE!  That is one of the Adriatic-type figs.  It has a raspberry jam flavor and is so good, you just want to close your eyes and lean against something after you have one.  And from what cajunfig says about Bourjosotte Gris, I can't wait to taste mine!  In February, it is now loaded with figs!  Cajunfigs BG wasn't productive.  Mine has many figs per branch and it's got more coming.  Just checked it yesterday, and some are getting fat and plump.  The dude missed Kadota which, along with Marylane Seedless might just be our favorites. 

Climate really does affect flavor and production.

Suzi

Suzi, thanks for your feedback. I've tasted none of these figs fresh, so can only go on other people's feedback. I'm eating as many dried and frozen figs as I can find and am learning to enjoy them.
Several people here recommended Violette de Bordeax, so I now have two planted in the ground. I guess I can dig them up if I don't like them?
I have two baby Strawberry Vertes thanks to the generosity of one of the members here, and am looking forward to tasting the fruit. 

Also, my "Bible" for fruit tasting is Edward Bunyard's The Anatomy of Dessert. He writes: "Bourjosotte Gris with its brown-red almost jelly like flesh is in the very foremost rank of figdom." I have some cuttings of this that seem to be rooting. It's great to hear that it does well here.
 
I found this taste classification helpful as well, which is similar to Cajun's, and decided to get one or two of the best fig trees from each category. Of course, who can stop at one or two?:

Flavors: http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/file?id=1658209

1,Sugar  “Sugar sweet....” Alma, Hollier,

2.Honey  “Honey sweet.... "sugar sweet ranging from lightly sweet to very sweet with rich (creamy) and/or complex additional flavors. Fig flavor can range from none to light. LSU Gold, Barada,

 3.Adriatic Berry  “Sugar sweet...with berry flavor” Sugar sweet with a berry taste which is rich with slightly complex additional flavors. When ripe, jammy interior. Otherwise has a standard dark flavor. Fig flavor can range from none to light. Adriatic JH,Strawberry Verte, Bourjosotte Gris, Battaglia Green 

4.Bordeaux Berry  “Sweet, with a berry taste which is rich...” Sweet with a berry taste which is rich with slightly complex additional flavors. Fig flavor can range from none to light. Violette de Bordeaux, Ronde de Bordeaux,

5.Dark Berry “Mildly sweet to very sweet, some degree of berry flavor....” and some degree of acidity. Some with complex additional flavors. Fig flavor can range from none to some. LSU Purple,

6.Exotic Berry  Black Madiera, Figo Prieto

AltadenaMara,

There are many of us in California growing figs, so maybe we'll have to make our own list :)) 

I have a 2 year old Ronde de Bordeaux in ground that has never had a fig, so maybe this will be the year.  I hope it's better than VdB! 

Alma is a wonderful, superior honey fig, and I have hollier cuttings on the way, but I would put Kadota and Marylane seedless (not seedless) above all in that category so far.  Of course, I do have LSU gold in it's 2nd year in ground.  This may be the year for my first taste.  It's starting to bud out. 

I have Adriatic growing but not sure if it's JH.  Could have been a start from UC Davis.  Gifted to me from a member who no longer posts here.  It's growing well in ground and I hope to taste figs from it this year.  You already know Verte is just fabulous in every way from my previous post.  I'll be updating myBourjosotte Gris thread later today.  It's at the highest point on our property, and I checked it yesterday.  There are some pretty big figs on it, so tasting might be sooner than I thought.  Taking a new photo today.  Stay tuned.

I have many 2 year old trees that haven't gifted a fig yet, so jury is out on Black Mission, Ronde de Bordeaux, Marseille Vs Black, Paradiso and some whose tags I lost when we moved here.  Once I get ripe figs from those, I'll be posting leaf and fig photos for ID.

I have not tasted Black Madiera or Figo Prieto, and don't have either one of those.

As to making our own list, there are so many microclimates in California that could be tough too!  My grandpa had a fig tree in La Crescenta, and I hated those things.  Probably the insipid Brown Turkey, LOL!

Suzi

And don't ever under estimate the simple sweet super "figgy" flavor of Celeste...which I don't know how hot it is in the summer where you are, but I assume Celeste likes heat...

Suzi, you’re right. We in SoCal need to make our own list. 

Cajun, the Varieties DB says about Celeste “Excellent fig -- arguably the finest Southern fig, but usually disappointing in California and the Southwest.”

Herman2 advises:  “When in pot Fig is stressed, and so Celeste when stressed, for any reason, like heat lack of water, etc, drops the fruits. When in ground,it is much relaxed. And when relaxed, it makes absolutely top quality fruits, even here in Nj, out of its normal climate range. Last word:If you intend to grow in pot in a hot climate, do not grow Celeste.”

Then there is the question: “Which Celeste?”

There seems to be general agreement that the Improved Celeste is better, but there are at least three such varieties like the LSU Improved Celeste, Improved Celeste Not, and the O’Rouke fig tree. Just Fruits and Exotics carries two of these trees but doesn't ship to California. Then there’s Celeste JR and LSU Golden Celeste.

In the Sugar/Honey flavor category, I have Alma, LSU Gold and Hollier as young whips, so may wait on Celeste.  

Mara,
In the place you live, the number One fig is the Unk. Pastilliere. It requires pollination and you wouldn’t see much written about it outside CA.
Very close second is Zidi (also requires pollination).  They are both the berry type figs. 

Greenfig, Thank you for your suggestions. I have given them top priority. You recommended:

“Unk. Pastilliere, Zidi, HdA, Strawberry Verte, VdB/Negronne, RdB DK, MBVS, CA BT”

 I couldn’t find any fig near to CA, but the others (I think) translate to:

Unknown Pastiliere, Zidi, Hative D’Argenteuil, Strawberry Verte, Violette de Bordeaux/Negronne, RdB=Ronde de Bordeaux, DK=Desert King, MBVS= Marseilles Black VS, CA=?, BT=Brown Turkey?

 Desert King and Violette dB were easy to find. A kind member of the board here sent me some cuttings of RdB and MBVS. Another kind member gave me two Strawberry Verte that she rooted. I have a bid going now on eBay for cuttings of Hative D’Argenteuil. I can’t find Unknown Pastiliere or Zidi anywhere, but check eBay daily for them. I may have a fig tree already that might be BT. I hope someone here might help me identify it once it’s leafed out with figs.
Thank you again for your input.

AltadenaMara it would be great if you would go to your control panel and put your planting zone in the signature field.  That helps others in the USA know your growing requirements, sorta.  Altadena was a no brainer for me.  Pretty much like my zone, but so many microclimates......  Does it ever drop below freezing where you live?  It mostly doesn't here, but snow falls because of the cold air currents above.  It usually doesn't stick at all.  Our highest summer temps lurk around 103 F.

I should be able to let you know how RdB and MBVS taste this year.

I'm pretty demanding when it comes to flavor profiles.  I like to know the following:
Juicy vs dry
Honey drop?
Berry (if so which one), Figgy, Honey, Peachy, Tropical?
First taste and after layered tastes
nutty crunch, a lot sort of or none
Skin.  Thick and tough, thin and easy.  Which?
Watery vs. Rich

See?  Not an easy thing...

Suzi

I apologize for my abbreviations :)
You were correct about all except the CA BT, it is the California Brown Turkey. 
It is not the same fig as a BT, the fig names could be misleading. This fig has many names, one of them is Black Spanish.
Quite a few figs I have were started from the UCD cuttings. Some complain about the FMV from there but I have not observed this to be a problem. At least their cuttings are true to the name.
Please be careful buying from eBay. Sometimes getting “a fig” is not the same as “the fig” you wanted. 

I may have extras of Unk. Pastilliere and CA BT later in the season, if you fail to locate any now.


[QUOTE=AltadenaMara]Greenfig, Thank you for your suggestions. I have given them top priority. You recommended:

“Unk. Pastilliere, Zidi, HdA, Strawberry Verte, VdB/Negronne, RdB DK, MBVS, CA BT”

 I couldn’t find any fig near to CA, but the others (I think) translate to:

Unknown Pastiliere, Zidi, Hative D’Argenteuil, Strawberry Verte, Violette de Bordeaux/Negronne, RdB=Ronde de Bordeaux, DK=Desert King, MBVS= Marseilles Black VS, CA=?, BT=Brown Turkey?

 Desert King and Violette dB were easy to find. A kind member of the board here sent me some cuttings of RdB and MBVS. Another kind member gave me two Strawberry Verte that she rooted. I have a bid going now on eBay for cuttings of Hative D’Argenteuil. I can’t find Unknown Pastiliere or Zidi anywhere, but check eBay daily for them. I may have a fig tree already that might be BT. I hope someone here might help me identify it once it’s leafed out with figs.
Thank you again for your input.

[QUOTE=DesertDance]

I should be able to let you know how RdB and MBVS taste this year.

I'm pretty demanding when it comes to flavor profiles.  I like to know the following:
Juicy vs dry
Honey drop?
Berry (if so which one), Figgy, Honey, Peachy, Tropical?
First taste and after layered tastes
nutty crunch, a lot sort of or none
Skin.  Thick and tough, thin and easy.  Which?
Watery vs. Rich

See?  Not an easy thing...

Suzi[/QUOTE]

Ugh.  I totally agree.  I want something more than "sweet and prolific green fig" or "rich and complex."  What does that even mean!?  I've only every tried about 5-6 varieties, and most were store-bought and far from dead ripe.  Moreover, I've got a bunch of cuttings going, more rooting, and ideally even more if/when UCD starts their thing.  I can google the crap out of them, but typically the best case scenario is when I find how people categorize a fig (e.g. adriatic type, honey type, or bordeaux berry type).  The newenglandgardening youtube channel has several varieties, but even that can be inadequate.  Or how about when people rate figs (e.g. 8/10, 9.5/10), is that an overall rating?  A rating for that "class" of figs (again...sugar, honey, adriatic, etc)?  Is this like....a thing for advanced tasters, or just casual and arbitrary?  I sure don't know.  I've surfed virtually all the threads over 50 posts at one point or another, but I still struggle to find out what I can expect a fig to taste like someday.  Alas.

Rant over.  Haha.

brettjm in GA, Someone here who is really savvy needs to do an excel spreadsheet with all the parameters for flavor on there, considering the planting zone, of course.  I guess it's just too hard.  But we have a vineyard, and there is a lot that goes into tasting wine.  I apply the same standards to figs.
Suzi

I think one of the big problems is that the many of the folks who have enough knowledge to undertake such an endeavor have too many other things to worry about (e.g. running a nursery). 

One way to do it would be to bring back "Fig of the Day/Week."  We could encourage those with experience with a particular fig (over multiple years, ideally) to say they grew it in zone X, in pot vs ground, how old the tree is, and then ask them to try to describe the flavor to the best of their ability.  Over a long period of time, that would create a significant database that could be added to by anyone who takes the time to post their experiences with it.

Anyways, I didn't mean to hijack a thread...just thinking out loud.

     How does it taste? As a new fig grower, I find the gorgeous fig pictures on line are helpful but they are useless once the fig is in my mouth. “Tasty” is the most useless adjective because it says nothing about how something tastes. All figs have a taste. “Excellent” is a little more helpful in comparison to figs that are "very good" or "good". But the fig could have an excellent horse radish taste if nothing more is said.

     True as it may be, it’s only slightly more helpful to say there are only three to five tastes in figs which will change widely depending on personal preferences and environmental factors. For a red centered fig, I would like to know: Does it have a berry taste? What is it about the taste that different from some of the other intense berry flavored figs? What kind of berry? Mulberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, (snozzberry –my son would add)? Or is it melon-like, peach-like, plum-like, cherry-like? I especially liked the observation: “The effect of the fig in your mouth was to steer your taste buds toward a berry taste, then fail to deliver that taste. So strangely, it is a berry jam fig without the taste of berries.”

If it’s a grape taste, is it:

• “A deep earthy flavorlike a cabernet or tawny port when dried (Black Mission),
• A buttery nutty honey note to it like a chardonnay (Calamyrna)
• A creamy amber skin type, very light flavor hint of berries, like a Sauvignon Blanc (Kadota)
• A robust, earthy flavor richness, like a Pinot Noir (Brown Turkey)
• A sweet flavor like a Riesling (Sierras),
• A light yellow green exterior, red interior, flavor like a raspberry jam, very sweet(Tiger Fig)”

                       -Karla J. Stockli, Chief Executive Officer, of the California Fig Advisory Board, California Fresh Fig Growers    
                              Association and the California Fig Institute.
http://www.theorganicview.com/environment/figs-an-ancient-fruit-that-is-truly-sustainable/

brettjm  See, this is why we need zone division because every fig grows, fruits, and has pests in different zones.  You didn't hijack a thread.  This thread was started in Thailand, and they have their own climate.  I'm sure they would like such a spreadsheet.  Who has time to do that?  Not me.

Today I sort of do cuz I'm sick.  If I wasn't I wouldn't be here.  I do my own spreadsheets for my own figs, and happy to share with those in my zone.  Won't mean much to people in zones other than 9 a and b.

Suzi

[QUOTE=greenfig]I apologize for my abbreviations :)
You were correct about all except the CA BT, it is the California Brown Turkey. 
It is not the same fig as a BT, the fig names could be misleading. This fig has many names, one of them is Black Spanish.
Quite a few figs I have were started from the UCD cuttings. Some complain about the FMV from there but I have not observed this to be a problem. At least their cuttings are true to the name.
Please be careful buying from eBay. Sometimes getting “a fig” is not the same as “the fig” you wanted. 

I may have extras of Unk. Pastilliere and CA BT later in the season, if you fail to locate any now.


[QUOTE=AltadenaMara]Greenfig, Thank you for your suggestions. I have given them top priority. You recommended:

“Unk. Pastilliere, Zidi, HdA, Strawberry Verte, VdB/Negronne, RdB DK, MBVS, CA BT”

 I couldn’t find any fig near to CA, but the others (I think) translate to:

Unknown Pastiliere, Zidi, Hative D’Argenteuil, Strawberry Verte, Violette de Bordeaux/Negronne, RdB=Ronde de Bordeaux, DK=Desert King, MBVS= Marseilles Black VS, CA=?, BT=Brown Turkey?

 Desert King and Violette dB were easy to find. A kind member of the board here sent me some cuttings of RdB and MBVS. Another kind member gave me two Strawberry Verte that she rooted. I have a bid going now on eBay for cuttings of Hative D’Argenteuil. I can’t find Unknown Pastiliere or Zidi anywhere, but check eBay daily for them. I may have a fig tree already that might be BT. I hope someone here might help me identify it once it’s leafed out with figs.
Thank you again for your input.

[QUOTE=DesertDance] brettjm  See, this is why we need zone division because every fig grows, fruits, and has pests in different zones.  You didn't hijack a thread.  This thread was started in Thailand, and they have their own climate.  I'm sure they would like such a spreadsheet.  Who has time to do that?  Not me.

Today I sort of do cuz I'm sick.  If I wasn't I wouldn't be here.  I do my own spreadsheets for my own figs, and happy to share with those in my zone.  Won't mean much to people in zones other than 9 a and b.

Suzi


[/QUOTE]indeed I find the whole discussion very enlightening. My experience with fresh figs so far has been quite limited, so it's excellent to know what to anticipate. The best figs I've experienced so far started with a promise of a fresh peach or apricot, but then that flavor kind of disappeared to be replaced by a sweet figgy one. I take it the other varieties will be very different. Keeping track with a spreadsheet sounds like an excellent idea.

ThaiFig, not so hard to keep records.  Not so sure what fig trees exist in your part of the world.  I have never tasted a peachy fig, but the honey/berry flows.

Good luck to you!

Suzi

[QUOTE=DesertDance] ThaiFig, not so hard to keep records.  Not so sure what fig trees exist in your part of the world.  I have never tasted a peachy fig, but the honey/berry flows.

Good luck to you!

Suzi[/QUOTE]here is one local tree http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Ficus_racemosa_fructescence.jpg thanks :)

Interesting photo.  Too bad you can't post the flavor.  Maybe one day computer dudes will conquer that feature........ Click here and smell the recipe.. hmmmmmmmmm

Suzi

[QUOTE=brettjm]I think one of the big problems is that the many of the folks who have enough knowledge to undertake such an endeavor have too many other things to worry about (e.g. running a nursery). 

One way to do it would be to bring back "Fig of the Day/Week."  We could encourage those with experience with a particular fig (over multiple years, ideally) to say they grew it in zone X, in pot vs ground, how old the tree is, and then ask them to try to describe the flavor to the best of their ability.  Over a long period of time, that would create a significant database that could be added to by anyone who takes the time to post their experiences with it.

Anyways, I didn't mean to hijack a thread...just thinking out loud.[/QUOTE]

That sounds like a great idea. I’ve been doing searches here trying to find out more about particular cultivars of figs such as what they taste like or where they grow best. Sometimes 80% of my hits just bring up the name listed on someone’s wish list and not anything about the fig at all. Unless the posts are under the specific name of the fig in the title, they’re pretty much lost. People here have contributed some valuable observations and it’s a shame for this information to get lost like that. A data base would be helpful, but would take some specific skills, time, and would mostly reflect the opinion of the person creating the data base. 

What makes the https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ihfyIwZ8l5DyVMFvTOAthQf65jn-2bRRMPGR57AKSyw/edit?pli=1#gid=0  data base so useful is that it is specific about the fig’s flavor category with a more detailed flavor description and a rating on a scale of 1-10. The location, ripening early/middle/late, and specific comments are also helpful. If people would included those categories when they post on the “Fig of the Day” section, it would be a big help for those of us trying to figure out which fig to grow next. The "Varieties" section is wonderful to see what the fig looks like but appearance is only part of the story.

Just wanted to thank everyone who made some recommendations. I've put together my current wish list of varieties I haven't yet obtained. I'm presently rooting some cuttings of other varieties I've already had sent to me. Thus far I've had good success in getting roots started but damp and mold are taking their toll. My most recent attempts have just started using much less humidity, they may take longer to root but hopefully the steps I've taken to prevent mold from getting started together with the lower humidity will give these cuttings a better start in life