It’s September, people! It’s fig season here in the Northern Hemisphere.
Buy figs now while you can during their excruciatingly short season from August through early October.
Figs, a member of the mulberry family, are among the oldest fruits consumed by humans. That said, figs are not actually fruits. They are syconiums–sac extensions of the branches of fig trees. The sacs are filled with flowers. Each flower produces a tiny fruit and a seed inside the sac. (Do I detect snoring out there? I thought this bit of fig information was pretty damn interesting. Then again, I’ve been pretty much in lockdown since March.)
And history! Figs have quite a history.
Archaeologists have found evidence of fig trees at ancient neolithic sites dating back to 5000 B.C.
Renaissance artists like Caravaggio (below) captured both figs’ beauty and the spirit of Renaissance indulgence in their still life paintings.
Franciscan missionaries introduced fig cultivation to California in 1769. The self-pollinating mission figs have anchored California’s love affair with figs ever since!
Here is a savory-sweet tart recipe that can be served as an entree or as a dessert. (I enjoyed mine with a green salad dressed in a vinaigrette.) The figs give the tart a rich sweetness. The gorgonzola cheese adds a savory hint of bitterness on your back palate although you can sub in goat cheese for a milder savory flavor. The generous drizzle of honey that you add just before serving makes this tart swoon worthy.
Enjoy this one!
[mpprecipe-recipe:250]
