[Simongrow]

Acerpictum, thanks for the explanation, I brew beer and wine so the slight fermentation from yeast altering the taste profile makes sense.

I love picking figs when they’re super ripe to maximize the sugars. Partially dried on the tree figs are also super awesome.

Simon

[venturabananas]

As fruitnut says, you can up the brix by letting them dry on the tree (or putting them in your dehydrator, for that matter), but to me, they loose a bunch of flavor elements and become much more one dimensional that way. I'd rather have an "in the 20's" brix fig with the complex flavor elements of a fresh fig. I believe that is Evdurtschi 's preference, too, and he has the background to explain which flavor elements disappear and why as figs dehydrate on the tree or off. Where you at Eric?

[Evdurtschi]

I am actually working on a post/video about this topic, per your request. :-) In essence, sometimes things can be so sweet that it dominates all else. You can actually have certain varieties that are sweeter, brix wise, but that taste more intense and complex and this is due to the fact that bitter compounds are often responsible for more complex flavors. We have many bitter taste receptors the transduction of bitter taste differs between one compound and another. Some bitter compounds suppress, and others enhance, sweet and sour tastes and interact with volatile flavors.
One of the best ways to develop your palate is to try any and all foods. Try something new every day or week and consciously try to analyze it and write down what you find. Over time, you will get really good and your tastes will evolve. When I was a child, in the south, food was awesome but similar. I was a fairly boring eater. Things have changed as I have tried to explore new tastes from travels all over the world and in my work with chocolate. Food is a journey for me now.
When it comes to drying figs, many of the volatiles are released and we are left with the simple sugary fig taste. That said, fruitnut has done some amazing work with his half dehydrated figs. They are super sweet and still retain flavor of the actual figs. Bluemalibu and I have also been working on dialing in drying methods and trialing which varieties can maintain their unique complex flavor even after being dried. Really good and exciting things in the works....

[Simongrow]

Thanks for the information BlueMalibu. I’ll assume it’s a Smyrna for now until someone can confirm it’s common. That fig looks amazing however and thanks for sharing the picture!

Simon

[Simongrow]

Mark, I think I would prefer the fresh fruit as well even though the dried figs have a higher Brix.

Simon

[CA-orchard]

Here is last year pictures of Orangered apricot mentioned above. Excellent variety. Only problem is high chill (I think 900 range) and then heat to get the colors and Brix. Difficult combination of high chill and early Summer heat!
Last year it was light on fruiting. This year it is loaded and more. After after thinning twice we still get broken branches! Difficult to choose between Blenheim, Moorpark and Orangered. We like them ALL and they ripen at different time. June to July is that time of the year.

[pyroelfears]

That looks great! And You're so close to me! I am across the bridge in Menlo Park. Can I propose an apricot tasting w/ you in june/july? I have a cot that I inherited on my property that I assume to be moorpark, but would love a direct comparison. Maybe I'll start another post off topic so we can discuss and share photos w/o taking over this thread. haha

[Simongrow]

Beautiful fruit CA-orchard! There’s no way I’m getting that much chill at my location in San Diego.

to get back on the topic of figs, I have been watching all of Harvey’s videos, reading through this forum, joined multiple other Facebook forums and also watched a bunch of videos from the Fig Queen.

ive been taking mental notes on varieties that sounded or looked like they were sweet and delicious. I gave more weight to growers whom are considered subject matter experts by having and tasting multiple varieties over the years and I also gave more weight to growers with similar growing conditions to my climate here in San Diego.

some of the varieties on my list may not necessarily be the sweetest figs but I gave extra weight to those varieties that are extremely good tasting.

I also subtracted points for figs that are extremely small like Smith and Campaineire. There are lots of birds and rodents in the area and I’ll have to net or bag much of my fruit if I want to guarantee they’ll make it to harvest and it’s a pain in the butt bagging tons of tiny fruit.

There’s a better return on Investment bagging several medium or large fruit vs a bunch of tiny fruit.

im not hating on the tiny fruit but they’re definitely not getting as much love.

Here’s my list so far in no particular order:

Dels Ermitans
Del Sen Jaume Gran
KTJ
Bordissot Negra Rimada
Martinenca Rimada
Paratjal Rimada
Campaniere
Smith
TC-12
Bourjassote Grise/Socorro Black
Cravens Craving/Black Madeira
I258
Yellow Longneck/Golden Rainbow
Burgan Unk
Violet De Sollies/Bourjasotte Noire
Capoll Curt Negra
Nerucciolo de Elba
Cipolla
Bebera Branca

and I’ve heard good things about these varieties but can’t confirm if they’re sweet:

Cosme Manyo
Tia Penya
Thermalito
Exquisito
White Madeira #1
Nuestra Senora Del Carmen
Ponte Tresa
Super Jumbo DK
Calderona

Simon

[venturabananas]

A couple of comments: all figs are sweet. Even the least sweet is going to be sweeter than a store bought stone fruit, citrus, etc.

Smith is not a small fig. It is pretty average in size. Now Figoin, that is a small fig!

[Simongrow]

Thanks for the clarification Mark, I’ve only seen pictures and videos of Smith and it looked pretty small to me, maybe around the 30g range.

If it’s medium sized, I’ll have to add that to my collection!

Simon

[PBfigs]

Simon. I should be able to set an AL on my branching Smith later on in this season for you.

[Mangoman]

I just picked
off my Smiths and in Florida, they are decent size and I would say medium to med/lg.

[Mario]

I hate to introduce an additional name but has anyone heard of Dattero ? Very sweet, probably the sweetest but also the smallest I ever eaten .
Vivaio Belfiore use to have

[Simongrow]

Mario, do you know if Dattero is a common fig or not?

For now, the sweetest common fig I could find some information on is KTJ, the fig Queen says the Brix is above 30% and the fruit can be harvested early and still have a relatively high Brix. From my research, it is a commercial variety in other countries which should translate to it being relatively productive.

my tree is very small but it already has small fruit on it.

Simon

[Simongrow]

I will use this thread to document pictures, growth habits and Brix scores of my sweetest and best tasting fig varieties. My trees are very young, most of them are rooted cuttings from Winter so they may not be at their prime this year but at least we can start collecting data.

since taste perception is so subjective, I will use my digital refractometer to get Brix values which I hope to keep track of over the years.

this thread feels so lonely without fig tree/fruit pictures so here’s a picture of my tiny White Madeira #1 holding some baby fruit.

Simon

[Mario]

Simongrow I think it is the sweetest, but like i said it’s also the smallest fig I ever saw I doubt if it would be grown commercially , I grow it for my own pleasure

[yonip69]

This is my unbiased observation on the KTJ fig fruit that I've been eating this winter time since this variety is so productive, and this variety will fruit early too. It amazed me that the fruit was really very sweet with closed eye variety, some fruits I intentionally let it over ripen to really soft, and some wrinkled state and it did not spoiled or rotted at all. and this variety has nice aroma on it not just the sweetness smile or taste. but then again this is ripen in San Diego but no wasp around on that time of the year.

[PBfigs]

That is a beautiful fig! It looks like I will need to add this one. Will your tree be big enough for a cutting or AL?

[Fig Gazer]

Ktg = ???

[RosyPosy]

Wow! That IS a beautiful fig! I love the pictures

[Jeffrey88]

Sweetest fig is probably one that hangs on the tree the longest like Black Madeira. LSU Tiger is an earlier variety that tastes like crystalized sugar.

[Simongrow]

This is my unbiased observation on the KTJ fig fruit that I've been eating this winter time since this variety is so productive, and this variety will fruit early too. It amazed me that the fruit was really very sweet with closed eye variety, some fruits I intentionally let it over ripen to really soft, and some wrinkled state and it did not spoiled or rotted at all. and this variety has nice aroma on it not just the sweetness smile or taste. but then again this is ripen in San Diego but no wasp around on that time of the year.

Wow, that looks so good! Hopefully my fruit will ripen properly!

Simon

[Simongrow]

Sweetest fig is probably one that hangs on the tree the longest like Black Madeira. LSU Tiger is an earlier variety that tastes like crystalized sugar.

Jeffrey88, does the LSU Tiger have a good flavor as well or is it just sweet? I’m on the hunt for the sweetest figs that also have excellent flavor.

Simon

[Rewton]

Whenever this question has come up in the past the variety is often mentioned as being the sweetest is White Triana. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet. I don't have any first first-hand experience with this variety but there must be something to this.

[Simongrow]

Thanks Steve! I need to do some more research on White Triana!

I forgot to add Angelito and Boysenberry Blush to the list of figs that are reported to be super tasty but I have not heard reports on their level of sweetness.

I’m sure that not everyone has access to a refractometer, they’re super cheap on Amazon, but I would highly recommend getting one to help the fig community build up data that is quantifiable.

if enough people say a fig is sweet, I’ll probably believe them but I would like to collect enough data over the course of multiple years so that we as a community can say something like this:
”Black Madeira grown in San Diego ripens it’s figs in X month and has an average Brix of 25% when grown in ideal conditions”.

if we know the average Brix value that a specific variety can attain when grown under ideal conditions, we can adjust plant husbandry to increase or decrease fertilization or watering in an attempt to reach the theoretical maximum on the Brix scale.

if we know for sure that BM can reach 25% Brix when harvested in September in San Diego and you live in San Diego and your fruit is only 18% Brix, there is a possibility( assuming you have an established tree) that you are not fertilizing appropriately, you are over watering or there is something else that you are not providing, or over providing for your tree.

plus, I think Rigo would love this information for the fig database!

Simon

[Simongrow]

As fruitnut says, you can up the brix by letting them dry on the tree (or putting them in your dehydrator, for that matter), but to me, they loose a bunch of flavor elements and become much more one dimensional that way. I'd rather have an "in the 20's" brix fig with the complex flavor elements of a fresh fig. I believe that is Evdurtschi 's preference, too, and he has the background to explain which flavor elements disappear and why as figs dehydrate on the tree or off. Where you at Eric?

Eric,

I can’t wait to see the video. I’m a foodie and I love the complex flavor profiles of fruit.

In Malaysia, there a Durian called Musang King that is considered one of the best tasting Durians. It’s very rich, sweet, creamy but it also has this slight bitterness that gives it a sort of balancing or counter sweet taste that makes the fruit more enjoyable.

I also ferment wine and brew beer and there are many flavors that can be attained by fermentation with a specific yeast or lactobacillus strains. Some chemical reactions like the Mallard reaction that is used to produce Black Garlic can also dramatically change flavor profiles but since were talking about figs, slight fermentation by yeast or lactobacillus can have an effect on the taste of figs, probably more do for figs with open ostiole.

Simon

[DallasFigs]

The Hollier that I got from Kerry some years back is one of the best I've ever tasted.. sweet and flavorable. My first impression after tasting it was rice pudding.

[Bluemalibu]

I forgot to add Angelito and Boysenberry Blush to the list of figs that are reported to be super tasty but I have not heard reports on their level of sweetness.

Simon,

Bob D did a taste-test of Angelito, when pitted against some of our top-tier cultivars. This is his report:



Doug, thank you for stopping by our house the other day and letting my wife and I sample your “famed” Angelito fig. I feel like the luckiest person alive to try this newest “wild” fig of yours (in fact, you said that we were only the 4^th person on the planet to taste it, so I really feel like we won the fig lottery!). Such an honor!!! Sorry Eric, you would have been the 5^th person if Doug’s transmission hadn’t acted up. Oh well, you can take the next Southwest flight to Sacramento!

Anyway, I thought I would attempt to describe what the Angelito fig tasted like for those that might be interested. First off, I must point out that I’m no fig “sommelier” (like a wine sommelier), but just an average guy who likes to grow and eat figs. We tried 3 figs in this order: one that was slightly unripe, perfectly ripe and slightly overripe. Here are my thoughts (and Doug, please feel free to chime in!).

Slightly unripe fig: Nice bright fruit and berry flavor, distinctive watermelon and ripe pear flavor, hint of mandarin, mildly sweet with moderate acidity, complex and multi-layered flavor like some of the best top-tiered figs, very jammy and nice seed crunch (it was definitely caprified).

Perfectly ripe fig: Nice bright and tangy fruit and berry flavor, no watermelon flavor as before, hints of honey, stronger mandarin and ripe pear flavor notes, possibly some tropical notes, absolute perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, very complex and multi-dimensional flavor profile, very jammy and nice seed crunch.

Slightly overripe fig: Super sweet with less acidity, bright fruit and tangy berry flavor, hints of honey, mandarin and ripe pear flavor notes, possibly some tropical notes, very complex and multi-dimensional flavor profile, very jammy, nice seed crunch and no souring whatsoever.

As Doug mentioned earlier, the Angelito fig was compared with other top rated figs such as, CC, BM, CdDN, CdDG, CdDB (my favorite), Galicia Negra, RL (BV), BG and LSU Scott’s Black and a few others. All I can say is that the Angelito fig beat out the other figs by a very wide margin (the closest was at least 3 steps down). Quite frankly, I’m very fond of my CdDN and CdDB figs, but they were somewhat of a letdown after tasting the Angelito fig. Never thought I would say that, but that’s truly what happened. I’m not sure if I should say thank you Doug for setting such a high standard or curse you! That is until I get a hold of one those trees!!!

Before the season ends, we should get together with Jon and Eric if possible to compare the Angelito with Boysenberry Blush. Wouldn’t that be something!!!

Final Note: One of the primary reasons why Angelito is such an outstanding fig is due to its perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, plus its complex and multi-dimensional flavor profile. For those who have peach or nectarine trees it’s very similar to the perfect sweetness/acidity ratio typically found in O’Henry and Tra-Zee peaches, or Flavor Top nectarine. For tomato growers, it’s similar to eating a Paul Robeson or Cherokee Purple heirloom tomato. Hope this comparison gives you a better understanding of what we’re trying to describe.

[Oolie]

Pay per view title match!

[Simongrow]

Doug, thanks for the post of Bob D’s review. It sounds like I would love it in the slightly over ripe state. Angelito sounds like an excellent tasting fig.

I’m not sure if I have the fig wasp in my area, I think there are some around but probably not too many.

I wonder how the top tier figs would compare if they were in caprified? Hopefully more of us will be able to sample both the Angelito and Boysenberry Blush one day.

Simon

[RosyPosy]

Bluemalibu ... ... ... My goodness but that sounds like an amazing fig! Good find! It may be quite a ways away, but I hope one day to try it as well after reading that. You seem to have quite the radar for finding really good figs, and selfishly I hope you don’t stop!

[Bluemalibu]

@Bluemalibu ... ... ... My goodness but that sounds like an amazing fig! Good find! It may be quite a ways away, but I hope one day to try it as well after reading that. You seem to have quite the radar for finding really good figs, and selfishly I hope you don’t stop!

Well thank you, Rosy... but if you only knew the incredible number of figs that are sampled out in the back country that have caused me to spew, vs. the very few that are found to be worthy of cultivating, much less that might knock a top tier fig or two from off of their pedestal, then you might wonder why one would ever choose to continue on the safari.

[RosyPosy]

No doubt! Well, I thank you for getting through all the nasties to find the good ones! 😁 I recently obtained a copy of Exquisito and am very excited to try it 👍🏼

[Simongrow]

I just realized I had this other thread. I should have combined these as one thread but I’ll just link them together and post in this thread.

https://www.ourfigs.com/forum/figs-home/981352-fig-brix-readings

Simon

[Simongrow]

I just noticed that this Golden Rainbow was dripping honey into the Organza bag so I picked it. I had my 7 year old daughter hold the fig to make the fig look bigger.

this was a very large fig at 120.1 grams. When I picked it, there was no latex leakage at the stem end. There were a couple drops of fig honey dripping from the ostiole and some of it dripped down into the organza bag.

this is my first fig that I’ve seen dripping with honey and I was mesmerized by the crazy fact that figs even do this! The color of the fig honey was yellow as you can see in the picture and it wasn’t even liquid. It solidified or gelatinized into a thick solid drip of honey.

I ate the fig with my wife and two daughters and everyone loved it! The great thing about this huge fig is that it is so large that you can cut it and share it and even when quartered, it’s still as big or bigger than some figs.

the taste was sweet with a sugary honey like flavor but the depth of flavor was lacking and it was somewhat monotone. I can clearly taste that I fertilized with enough potassium and Calcium but I did slightly over water this plant as the figs were forming because I was trying to force a Nuestra Senora Del Carmen bud to pop.

Anyways, this is a great sweet honey fig with excellent size and sweetness going for it but if you like more depth, or layers of flavor, you should probably look elsewhere. I’m a complete noob so take this review with a grain of salt.

Simon

[It Could use another day]

How big is your tree?

[venturabananas]

Breba or main crop? Breba, I find, tend to be more one dimensional in flavor, being just sweet.

Additionally, with this variety, the flavor of the main crop is better late in the year, when the weather cools. Evdurtschi will back me up on this. They also get more attractive.

[Evdurtschi]

I definitely feel that the cooler weather ripened ones are better. More complex and stronger flavor. The earlier ones seemed very much one dimensional. Still delicious honey figs though

[PBfigs]

That is not a fig, it is a melon!