For those of you who like to dry figs... What are your best varieties for drying.  I really like black mission but that's the only variety I have experience with.  Thanks!

Commercially they use Calimyrna. I have seen Black Mission dried. They were nasty. Don't know if it was just a bad batch, but they were nasty.

You'll probably have to experiment.

Jon

I have tried store purchased dried Mission figs and they were awesome.

The calimyrna from California seem to be the best ones we can buy dry, the mission are good but just not as good flavour as the calimyrna.

I think most varieties would be good if the fruit you dry are good-flavored and picked when ripe. You can't turn an inferior fresh fruit into a good dry fruit.

I also think you'd get a better product if the figs were sliced rather than dried whole. That way it dries very fast and no 'slow decay' and resulting inferior taste as can happen in the case of some things dried whole. This assumes using a dehydrator rather than 'sun dried' outside however.

Padsfan

     I suggest that you find some dried figs and see what suits your fancy. If you have Walgreens out there, you can sample the Mission figs they sell in a white and blue box labeled "Nice."

I dried some Celeste that turned out real good.

I have an unknown white fig that I found growing Unprotected in provo Utah that the figs dry on The tree and are excellent. No fuss just clip them off when dry.

George, and the birds didn't get them?  Amazing!  I bet they do taste better dried on the tree.

There are a lot of commercial table grape vineyards around here, and you can find huge bins of plump raisins at the produce stands.  They are pretty dusty, and do have some stems mixed in, but they are cheap and huge!!

I would imagine the same principle would work for figs, if you could resist from eating them fresh!!

Suzi

Any and all figs can be dried by useing a dehydrater or oven set on lowest temp. Now drying with the sun, is different, and not sure. My friend Mario, just dried Brunswick figs. They were delish, but wonder how long they will keep. The reason I say this, is because they were still moist. They were much better tasting then the dried out hard figs, but with moisture, I wonder if they will spoil. He's doing a test to see if it will work.


luke

[QUOTE=lukeott]Any and all figs can be dried by useing a dehydrater or oven set on lowest temp. Now drying with the sun, is different, and not sure. My friend Mario, just dried Brunswick figs. They were delish, but wonder how long they will keep. The reason I say this, is because they were still moist. They were much better tasting then the dried out hard figs, but with moisture, I wonder if they will spoil. He's doing a test to see if it will work.[/QUOTE]

I dry lots of fruits, and many are better when not dried totally - the flavor is intensified, but they are still soft. These I keep in the freezer for storage since they are not as versital as totally dry, sweet fruits like raisins.

Earlier this year I dried (sliced, not whole)some of the remaining figs I purchased from Trader Joes. I would guess they were maybe 75% dry. They were much better tasting than the store-bought fresh fruits.

Depending on how much moisture is left in them, partially dried fruits can mold if left at room temperature.

Gina, Thanks for telling me this about the freezer. Is there anything you do special to them before putting them away, meaning how or what do you use. I agree with the flavor, the taste is intense. The ones dried completely are hard as rock.

luke

I dried el.sals and hardy chicago figs in later part of summer  2008 in sun on patio table on board covered with cheescloth.
Some with skin on and some peeled.

Awesome compared to the store bought ones in picture which i discarded.
That year also dried some salted plum tomatoes and they were excellent.

Perhaps one year i do again but i string them and hang em up.

Here is what was left of them in mid January 2009.

[QUOTE=lukeott]Gina, Thanks for telling me this about the freezer. Is there anything you do special to them before putting them away, meaning how or what do you use. I agree with the flavor, the taste is intense. The ones dried completely are hard as rock.
[/QUOTE]

I learned about using the freezer from the lady who runs the UPick apricot farm. It's sometimes hard to tell when something is dry. So freezing takes the guesswork out of it. And you can stop drying when the texture is what you want. I haven't dried enough figs to put in the freezer, but with other fruits, I just put them/store in small plastic freezer bags. I'm currently eating some of my dried blueberries. If I had a vacuum food saver, I might consider using that for long-term storage.

I do like using the dehydrator since it dries things very fast and there is very little danger of accidental decompostion in the process, and peak flavor is preserved.

Again thanks Gina, very good tips.
Martin, the figs look perfect. I love dried tomatoes. It has such a intense flavor. I like to add them to sausage pepper and onions. Also add to my sauce or as you would say gravy.

luke

I've dried desert kings and they were great.

Celeste is AWESOME dry. I have some pics around here circa 2009 or so of Celeste that I dried on my desk at work. Turned out superb, tasted a lot lw a fig newton. Very easy to dry also - I left mine whole, sitting on my desk, for a week or so, worked awesome.

I wanted to bump this thread and ask if anyone has any other advice on good varieties of common figs that dry well either in the sun or dehydrator. I saw Elin and Lampo talking about dried figs in another thread and I was curious as to other people's experiences. I have tried drying green ischia, negronne, and conadria in a dehydrator and they have all turned out nicely.

The ones i got from Spain one year were excellent, calabacita.  UCD has this variety but I believe it is not available for cuttings yet and is planned to be put into the new orchard.  Small figs, but awesome flavour, they cover them in rice flour, although I cannot remember why.

I know there is an old California Rare Fruit local chapter article about what figs dry well.  Winner was Black Ischia.

I dry Lattarula.  They are a nice size and juicy and they sun dry very nice.  Drying seems to concentrate the flavours.  Use combination of Sun dry and dehydrator with figs cut in half and turned over as necessary.

Dottato is another fig that is dried commercially.  The ones I have seen are whole figs not cut.   

I just dried a batch of Celeste, and I've got to say there were awesome! I am not a big Celeste fan normally, but dried just down to gooey texture they were really really good. I have a mixed batch drying right now. BT and HC, plus a few I don't know what they are. I cut them in half and will  dry them on 125F for 10-12 hours max.

Thanks for all of the info and variety suggestions, I am surprised about the black ischia because I feel like it isn't that productive. I don't have one so I don't have any experience with it. Has anyone tried drying figs whole in a dehydrator?

I've been eating store bought dried Conadria, they are delicious!