when are figs ripe?

Posted by Maree W on March 15, 2011 at 9:08am

A friend of mine has a fig tree, and I thought I would try making some fig jam.

He picked the figs, but they look "green", and don't taste like much. Quite small.

How do you know when they are ripe?  If we leave them on the tree, the birds get them! 

And will they make nice jam even if they are not ripe?

Will they ripen when picked? They just seem to be going rotten.

Hope someone can help!??

Thanks

Maree

You need to be a member of ooooby3 to add comments!

Join ooooby3

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Rachel Gardiner March 25, 2011 at 7:44am
    We have a fig Orchard and always know when they are coming into season as the birds (thousands of the bloody things) start coming around. Figs will droop, you can pick them semi firm and they will ripen as long as you pick them off right at the tree branch, try not to snap the steam and make sure you get the wood bit at the end. Hope this makes sense! I should know we have been picking  days a week for the last 8 weeks and still have another 6 weeks to  go!
  • Kali March 16, 2011 at 12:57am

    as figs ripen they start to hang down and feel soft.  I know when they are ripe when they have bird pecks in them 

     I made  fig and apple jam flavoured with cinnamon and star anise which was nice, but runny, the figs I used were soft but hadn't gained their maximum sweetness because of the birds

    there are recipes for unripe fig jam online, I think its a greek delicacy

  • Lynn March 15, 2011 at 10:09am
    With the type of fig tree I had, the fruits were not ripe until they fell from the tree. Picking them FROM the tree was a waste of time as they were still unripe. I had to wait until they fell and get there before the birds to pick them up from the ground.
    • moggy > Lynn March 15, 2011 at 12:37pm
      I agree, leave them to ripen as long as possible on the tree, they should go a brownish colour and then feel slightly soft but not squishy. If birds are a problem use bird netting if the tree is not so big.
    • Brian Adam > moggy March 19, 2011 at 7:35pm

      I reckon, when you pick a fig there ought to be no milky stuff on the cut stem. The figsshould be soft and (in my case) dark purple, and release themselves at a gentle touch. 

      Jamie Oliver's good for fig recipes: grilled desserts, slow-oven cooked semi-sec, etc.

This reply was deleted.