Figs have a short shelf life and should be eaten within a few days. Unlike many more common fruits like mango, banana, papaya, figs do not continue to ripen off the tree. However, figs may still soften if left at room temperature for some time. How to choose figs? Ripe figs feel plump and tender […]
The fig is not actually a fruit, but a syconium. It is dubbed the sweet “false fruit” cultivated since time of Mesopotamia. Syconium is pronounced “saɪˈkoʊ ni əm”. In layman’s term, it is actually inside-out flower clusters. The fig is an enclosure with tens to thousands of fruits within it. ‘Syconium’ has an Ancient Greek […]
Fig fruits are mostly consumed dried in Malaysia. Due to the fruit’s versatile use, there are a wide variety of consumer products enhanced with figs, such as jam, preserves, muesli, biscuits and more. Meanwhile, fresh fig fruits are not imported into Malaysia in abundance due to its highly perishable nature and sensitivity to rough handling. […]
Fig cultivation in Malaysia In Malaysia, fig trees are cultivated in small-scale farms dotted around the country. It has been found that the trees do well with soil that is soft, full of humus (organic matter) and without an underlay of bedrock. If the trees are exposed to too many chilly nights and rainy weather, […]
Fig as a super fruit In the writings of 1st-century Roman philosopher Pliny the Elder, he wrote that “figs are restorative” and they were “the best food that can be taken by those who are brought low by long sickness”. Ancient people in the tropics have developed medicines from fig bark, leaves, roots and latex. […]
Figs in ancient times Modern evidence of fig cultivation points to the Ficus carica being “farmed” more than 11, 000 years ago in parts of the Middle East. Fig trees are even found to predate grain cultivation in the region by hundreds of years. In addition, figs are regularly mentioned in the Abrahamic religions. But […]
