Ripe figs are irresistible. They are in our markets now, boxed like chocolates, each one nestled in its own berth. Who could guess that their tender purple skin covers a riot of strawberry-red strands that are sweet and as fragrant as a flower? In fact, the fig is filled with tiny flowers turned outside in. Its pollination story is one of nature’s stranger things.
A tiny female fig wasp is tasked with laying its eggs inside an undeveloped female fig by entering the apex on the underside of the fruit. The wasp also carries pollen that fertilizes the fig's ovaries and it ripens to maturity. When the wasp eggs hatch in the fig, a new generation of female wasps, fertilized by the males among them, leave the fig through paths forged by their wingless brothers to continue the cycle. Yes, there are figs of both sexes on a fig tree, but no, the male figs do not develop when pollinated by a wasp, nor can they leave a female fig after fertilizing their sisters. Nature reverses gender roles with impunity. The fig then produces an enzyme that dissolves wasp remains leaving the fruit succulent, ready to eat by all but the most devout vegans.
Don't let this amazing story deter you from eating figs. The commercially grown figs we purchase in the grocery have been pollinated with a hormone spray. An adventurous eater must pick and eat a ripe fig from a roadside tree to experience a wasp-pollinated fruit and wonder at what has transpired to create it.
The figs age quickly once I bring them home, faster than I can eat them. I quickly preserve at least half of them in a light sugar syrup. They cook in ten minutes, and an immersion blender turns their highly fibrous interior to a pudding-like consistency. Small amounts of powdered cinnamon, ginger and star anise, stirred into the cooked figs, add an exotic aroma. When I can resist consuming fig jam out of the jar, I serve it with breakfast breads and cheeses.
FIG JAM
Ingredients for 2 cups:
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1-pound ripe black mission figs (9-10)
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ginger and star anise
Bring the water and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan, stirring in the sugar to help it dissolve. Trim the stem end and halve the figs before adding them to the simmering syrup. Partially cover the pot and maintain a slow simmer for ten minutes or until the figs are soft.
Remove the fruit pieces with a strainer and reduce the syrup to ½ cup. Stir the spices into the hot syrup and pour them over the fruit. Puree the mixture and pour into clean jars. Store in the refrigerator between uses and consume within two weeks.
