Brown Turkey

[Visceral]

Would someone with a bonafide Brown Turkey tree please attempt to describe the taste of the fig? I was watching some videos on youtube, and couldn't find anyone sampling a bonafide BT there. I know there are a few different versions floating around and some are better than others apparently. Whichever version you have, could you attempt to describe the taste?


I recently watched the movie O Brother Where Art Thou again, so I'm attempting to use the word bonafide in conversations all this week.

[wellingtonbill]

Hey hey Visceral,

My Brown Turkey story:
I married a small "sandhills" town NC girl whose mother planted two Brown Turkeys 20 plus years ago in a small open garden plot. The largest tree is now fifteen feet tall and fifteen feet wide - never pruned. This tree bears well every year. Some of the Brown Turkey figs are rather large - tan to brown in color while others are smaller. The taste is sugar sweet - not "syruppy" - mild honey flavor- not berry. And the skin is between thick and thin. I am weird because I like Brown Turkeys. In the past 20 or so years I have eaten a thousand figs off the trees and several jars of preserves. My mother-in-law sold her house last year and moved in with us. (Be kind.) I took cuttings and have two strong BTs in pots. Figs forever!! I hope this helps.

[Kelby]

Sugary, not very deep flavor.

[Visceral]

My Celeste tastes like that. It produced two crops for me last year, and the first was early. So I don't mind too much.

[npolaske]

I find California Brown Turkey and English Brown Turkey to be VERY different is almost every respect. CBT is a figgy sugar fig with an open eye that is prone to spoiling in even moderately wet conditions, while EBT is a green to brown sugary honey fig with a closed eye that does well in humid or dry conditions. I definitely prefer the EBT because its quality is dependable, while CBT varies a lot throughout the year (MUCH better in the heat of the summer, not great in spring or fall).

[wellingtonbill]

Down here in North Carolina we call our BTs - Southern Brown Turkey - probably a location prefix. Closed eye and stem greenish gradually moving forward as tan to light brown. True for me too! SBT does not have a deep flavor.

[AscPete]

There are several different Varieties called Brown Turkey ranging from Celeste, Brunswich to Genoa ...

But there is one Variety in circulation with different named cultivars that is the "Bonafide" Brown Turkey aka English Brown Turkey (Historical English Brown Turkey, Mediterranean Brown Turkey, Brown Turkish Fig)....

Typical English Brown Turkey Breba figs (photo by @Espo8).


IMO, the breba figs and main crop figs differ in sweetness with the maincrop being sweeter, both are mild, in the Sugar Flavor Group and when fully ripe have a slight / hint of "fig flavor" which reminds me of caramelized cane sugar. Also the main crop figs are usually darker in color and turbinate / rounder in shape.

[Fygmalion]

As I sit here at my desk with the wind howling outside and the snow drifting into higher and higher piles, I look at this picture and get the yearning.... 'hope springs eternal' ....

[Visceral]

Pete, thanks for that information. The English version looks huge and based on all I've read, I think I'd enjoy it. It gets humid down here, so a closed eye is nice.

[AscPete]

@Visceral
You're welcome.
BTW, some cultivars of English Brown Turkey are also "named" / "called" Texas Everbearing Brown Turkey in the South and areas of Texas...

[Visceral]

Hey hey Visceral,

My Brown Turkey story:
I married a small "sandhills" town NC girl whose mother planted two Brown Turkeys 20 plus years ago in a small open garden plot. The largest tree is now fifteen feet tall and fifteen feet wide - never pruned. This tree bears well every year. Some of the Brown Turkey figs are rather large - tan to brown in color while others are smaller. The taste is sugar sweet - not "syruppy" - mild honey flavor- not berry. And the skin is between thick and thin. I am weird because I like Brown Turkeys. In the past 20 or so years I have eaten a thousand figs off the trees and several jars of preserves. My mother-in-law sold her house last year and moved in with us. (Be kind.) I took cuttings and have two strong BTs in pots. Figs forever!! I hope this helps.

That information most definitely helps! It sounds pretty good too. The variety doesn't seem to get any love, and because I haven't sampled one I don't know why. If it produces well like you say, I want to try it. You say you're weird because you like it, but as long as it doesn't taste weird (bitter or sour) I think you are on the right track.

[Visceral]

while EBT is a green to brown sugary honey fig

Now see, that just sounds good to me. Sugary honey makes me think about a hot buttermilk biscuit with some EBT preserves slathered on top.

I had never considered growing the BT varieties because of what I was reading on the fourms. I tried rooting some that a generous member here sent me, but they didn't make it.

[npolaske]

We tried about 20 varieties last year and it was my wife's favorite. It's a really good fig!

[Wisner]

I had a lady call me about my ad for fig trees for sale. She said "do you have Brown Turkey? " I said" no, but I have... " She hung up on me before I could tell her what other varieties I had. I thought, Dang lady, you didn't give me a chance. She wanted her a Brown Turkey. LOL

[Taverna78]

Just ganna put it out there.....

many people use BT as root stock. They Could care less about the fruits but more about the rate of growth.

[Visceral]

Yes it seems like THE choice for root stock. Poor BT, no love for its figs.

[susieqz]

danny [dkirktexas] has many authentic english brown turkey.
get one from him if you want the real thing.

[Visceral]

I told myself no more this year. Arrggh

[cybercop]

There are several different Varieties called Brown Turkey ranging from Celeste, Brunswich to Genoa ...

But there is one Variety in circulation with different named cultivars that is the "Bonafide" Brown Turkey aka English Brown Turkey (Historical English Brown Turkey, Mediterranean Brown Turkey, Brown Turkish Fig)....

Typical English Brown Turkey Breba figs (photo by @Espo8).


IMO, the breba figs and main crop figs differ in sweetness with the maincrop being sweeter, both are mild, in the Sugar Flavor Group and when fully ripe have a slight / hint of "fig flavor" which reminds me of caramelized cane sugar. Also the main crop figs are usually darker in color and turbinate / rounder in shape.

Thank You !
That's exactly what I needed to make sure the fig tree of the neighbors was of this variety. The leaves and the description of the fruits are exactly the same. A few weeks ago, I ate fruits of this variety. The pulp was almost white in color with a little pink in the center, but it was extremely sweet. The taste was mostly sugar. The fruits of the main crop are darker and more rounded.

https://i.postimg.cc/SK9gd87p/BT-Unkn-leaf3.jpg

[taliesin]

Yes very sweet fig. My mom took a bite and said "Too sweet for me" I get how u could spread it on toast instead of jam. Great tasting fig.

[Freddenacka]

I have never tried the fruit because mine is to small yet.
Here in Sweden the brown Turkey is usually s bit more expensive then other figs because it's hardiness.
I have one cutting that I got from Spain s few years ago that I have not cared so much about because what I have been reading about it.
Now it's in a bigger pot because I want to know how bad ore good it is.