Hello, a friend of mine from Egypt mentioned that he is looking to find an Egyptian variety of fig.
Phonetically he wrote Mehetal from the original Arabic.
He said it is a dark red variety that is extremely sweet (He said way sweeter than my Hardy Chicago I gave him.)  Any ideas of the exact variety name and whether it is available in the US?

Thanks,
Kirk Martin
Owings, MD.
USDA Zone: 7a

All these experts on this forum and no one has heard of it?


Kirk Martin
Owings, MD.
USDA Zone 7a

i think mehetal means "one who tricks people" in arabic. i never heard of the word associated with a fig.

Is the fig dark red inside or dark red outside.? Hmari, khdari, sumacki, souadi, fayumi, so many arabic varieties that are dark red on the inside. I can go on and on.

If you're looking for a dark red exterior fig that originates from Egypt, maybe Bass is the only person who can answer that. Here is a post from the past from Bass

There's a variety cultivated in Northern Sinai, Egypt that goes by the name Red "Adasee".
It is small spherical red on the outside and red on the inside and very sweet. This variety also has a white strain that goes by the name White Adasse.
I don't know if it exists in the US or if it needs the wasp or not.
Mehetal means crook in Arabic.

"Mehetal" means the one who cons others, a con man. Never heard of this fig.

Also, Izbat an Naj, the name translates to "The hamlet of a small settlement". It is not known in Egypt, unless it's a collector's fig.

Haven't heard of mehetal but as an fyi I have an Egyptian fig ;  Fayumi (aka Sultani).
 
A common type fig, beautiful single lobed leaves and medium size black figs with red centre, sweet and nice taste hard to describe.
It ripens late for me but is worth keeping mostly because it is an attractive fig. 

 

Have never heard o this name Mehtal and also it is not mentiond here:
http://www.bu.edu.eg/portal/uploads/agriculture/horticulture/1162/publications/mohamed%20abd%20el-wahab%20khamis_2-evaluation%20of%20some%20fig%20cultivar%20in%20egypt.doc

"Sultani variety is the most widely grown. It is also called Fayoumi, Ramadi, Barshoumy, Sidi Gaber and Hegazi. As such, sultani fig cultivar could be considered the local standard variety in Egypt. Other local cultivars such as Asuani, Kommathri, Adasi-Abiad, Adasi-Ahmer, Abboudi and Kahramani received much less attention in comparison with Sultani cv. All of these cultivars set fruits parthenocarpically and their fruits are used for fresh consumption."



Heard of Adasi btw (in condit adsi ahma):
Adsi Ahma. A purple fig of Egypt, described by Badie and Ghamrawi (1931) as of the
same shape as Bayoudi.

@Pino is your Fayumi Brown or red on the outside? Based on some readings, it has another name, "Barshoomi" in some places. It is the most common fig on the North Western coast of Egypt.  I've read is that the outer skin is brown (unless it's a Typo) and the inside is reddish.

In general, Egyptians call common fig "Teen Barshoumi" and they call Prickly Pear "Teen Shouki", teen means fig in Arabic.

Faiyumi fig means the fig produced in Faiyum, a city in Egypt. Honestly, there are various varieties that can be found in the local market as many fig farmers have their own heirloom varieties in their orchards.

Nice fig in any case.... Colors, taste... those are subject to so much subjective interpretation based on each individuals brain function, taste receptor cells, etc... Same with colors... no two people see a landscape scene in exactly the same way to to variability in each of us. We can all agree on ranges... reds, blues, greens, sugar, berry and so on there are differences in the degrees.... Just MHO