Enjoying Figs in Winter

Food

Figs are an Indian summer for our taste buds in the middle of autumn. They’re also highly concentrated in vitamins and minerals to help you brave the first hint of cold weather.

By Jerôme Dumur - Photos José Nicolas - September 9, 2011

With neither microscope nor supercomputer, the Ancient Greeks knew much about the world. They predicted the atom, knew that the Earth was round, calculated the height of the Great Pyramid and… discovered the nutritional qualities of figs! In fact, Plato said that figs were ideal nutrition for athletes – a fact confirmed by today’s nutritionists, who praise the fruit’s richness in minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium), fiber and niacin, and its low calorie count: 60 calories for 100 grams (3.5 ounces), not much more than an apple – the diet queen. So for a change,

good health and indulgence can go together, so there’s no need to hold back: let’s eat figs! Okay, but which ones? All of them, as long as they come from female trees. Because the fig tree can be male or female, and the male produces inedible “caprifigs,” traditionally fed to goats in the Mediterranean culture. Apart from that, each variety has its own unique qualities. Over 250 varieties have been inventoried, including Black Nice, Grey of St. Jean, Goutte d’Or, White of Argenteuil, the Bordeaux Red… Some fig varieties produce an early harvest, such as the Abicou, the Black Aubique of

Provence, a “breba” variety with two harvests per year, which, in warm years, appears on the market stalls as early as the end of June. Other varieties take their time, like Marseille figs, which never appear before mid-September. Locals dub them, and this is not for the squeamish, the “Pope’s Balls,” in reference to a practice of the Avignon papacy. In this tradition, the Holy Father’s attributes were verified immediately after his election to guarantee that the unfortunate experience of the Pope Joan didn’t repeat itself. It is a colorful name for a succulent fruit: its flesh is not very juicy, but intensely sweet and perfumed. But if, of all these delicacies, you had to choose just one? It would most certainly be the Violette de Solliès, the only French

fig to receive, since 2006, a Controlled Designation of Origin certificate. Exclusively cultivated in Solliès-Pont, a little village in the Var region, and in about 15 surrounding villages, it besieges the French market stalls between August and November. This Provencal pearl is a real treat, with its perfectly crisp skin, succulent and delicately perfumed flesh and subtle flavors – sweet but improved with a touch of acidity – the queen of the palate.

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The Shop

Ambiance figue

La figue dans tous ses états
2, rue de la République

Solliès-Pont

Book

The bible for figs' lovers ! History, bottany, litterature, art, gastronomy, health and beauty : all you want to know about the subject !
Mémoires de la figue by Henri Joannet, éditions Equinoxe

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