Figs have come a long way since their cookie filling days. Gourmet kitchens throughout the country pair the sweet fruit with crisp bacon and smoky cheeses for delicious appetizers. Chefs sauté figs with wine and delight diners with juicy surprises in salads and sauces. They even find their way to fancy cocktail parties as a sidekick to goat cheese and a cured ham. Even on Bravo’s Top Chef, they are featuring the fig. The fruit’s short season heightens demand and makes it a culinary star in many Fall recipes.
Along the Gulf Coast, fresh figs are prime in late summer and start hibernating before winter hits. They are very delicate and juicy when first picked and keep their freshness for a mere 3 days. In fact, figs are so highly perishable that some produce companies avoid distributing them all together. The secret to enjoying the fig is finding and eating this precious fruit in its prime.
At Jackson’s we prefer to work with fresh and locally grown foods in all our recipes, so it’s fortunate that figs flourish in our Mediterraneanesque climate. This year, Chef Irv Miller honors the fig’s versatility by transforming the fruit into a decadent preserve to top foie gras on Jackson’s Fall/Winter dinner menu.
If you haven’t quite reached your fig fill before the season ends, you can find dried figs in the dried fruits section at most good grocery stores. Just steep them in water or your favorite liqueur to plump them up before eating or cooking.
Whether you’re cooking with figs as a flavor enhancer or enjoying them in their fresh pure splendor, pick plump and fragrant fruit with skins still in tact. The ideal ripe color depends on the type of fig you are eating:
• Calimyrna – greenish-yellow
• Black Mission – almost black when ripe
• Kadota – soft, light yellow
• Smyrna – yellow-brown.
While they haven’t made a fashion statement since the days of Adam and Eve…figs are setting trends on people’s plates. What is your favorite way of eating or preparing figs? We welcome your comments and suggestions.
Tags: Recipes
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