Figs with Acid Flavor

[LadyGT]

I picked Papa John fig last year as well as this year and it was not sweet. It had more of an acidic flavor after taste. I am not happy with it at this point. I think my Negra de' Agde has it too. I have not had one this year, but did last year.

Are there other varieties that have this? I will make note of this so I don't add any of them to my collection.

[fruitnut]

Any chance those acidic figs were picked on the green side? That's about the only time I've tasted that, figs picked too early. Caprified figs are another matter. They can be acidic even fully ripe.

[LadyGT]

It's possible that mine were not perfectly ripe as it has been raining daily here and I have been worried about the birds, wasps or squirrels beating me to the fruit.. I have seen on a couple of Figaholics' videos, acidity was mentioned but I didn't really know what he was talking about because figs are suppose to be sweet. I didn't make note of the varieties he was referring to either. I may have to go back and watch them all over again. lol Typically most people talk about thickness of skin, seed crunch, sweetness, etc. but not acidity, if any.

[Evan]

Sorry to hear that you do not like the acidity that some figs possess. Not sure if this will ever be on your radar since it might require pollination but Kuato had the biggest acid bite out of any of the figs I sampled last year. But maybe this was caused by caprification, which Steve states above. I loved it though

[Tongalahi]

Maybe you would prefer honey figs than berry type figs then if the acidic flavor isn’t to your taste? I know a couple of the middle eastern varieties like Siblawi, Izbat an Naj, and Qalaat al Madiq are supposed to be like pure sugar as a fruit. I actually prefer a little bit of acidity in my fruits, it makes it taste a bit more tropical in my opinion.

[LadyGT]

So you are saying all berry figs are acidic?

[fruitnut]

Ripe common figs that are not caprified are not acidic IME. I did just have a HdA that was highly acidic but it was caprified. I didn't particularly like it nor did my friend that tried half the fruit.

[PacNorWreck]

It may be helpful to clarify what you consider to be acidic - strawberries / raspberries / blueberries / blackberries are acidic, even apples have some acids in them. Do they bother you or are you fine with them, but this fig you had was very very acidic / tasted mainly sour?

The perception of acidity or sourness often comes in when a fruit doesnt have enough sweetness to balance out the sourness. A good example of this is acidless oranges (a specific cultivar called Vaniglia Sanguigno) - they taste terrible! All sweetness, no acidity, super bland and mild. An acquired taste to be sure.

[Rickyv101]

you are right, I have a Desert king clone in ground, It was junk tree before 5 years old due to acidic skin, When tree mature after 5 years old, Figs are sweeter and tree is able to convert acidic to rich fruitness taste, It tastes like Italian plums from mature tree, Some people would love its taste. Due to acidic, I can not eat too many of them daily.