Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Eat local: Our friend the fig

Posted on July 10, 2008 by Staff

Chef Bill Smith of Crook’s Corner offers words of wisdom on figs.

The local wild fig is called a turkey fig. They are easy to gather and are just now coming in.

As the fruit ripens, it turns from green to brown, shedding the fuzz from its skin. It will soften and should come right off of the tree. To double check, there is a little opening at the bottom of the fruit. Pink or red coloring there will indicate ready ripeness. Gather should be easy, as fig trees are generally short and have no thorns to worry about. It’s possible to be allergic to fig tree latex, so if you notice skin irritation put on some rubber gloves.

Figs are ready to eat (with a little rinsing) right off the tree, but also go great with many things. Things like ice cream.
Smith shares his recipe: Wash and slice the fig and then warm it a little on the stove until it turns a rosy color. Toss the warmed figs into vanilla ice cream and use a fork to mash the two together. The ice cream will store well in the refrigerator for a few days, and not so well outside of one.

“Everybody should have a fig tree,” advises Smith. Figs are a great way to eat local and the trees aren’t difficult to maintain, he explains.

Also, some fig folklore from Smith: “When I was growing up, when everybody made oysters — I grew up on the shore — they would pile the shells around the fig tree for fertilizer. I don’t know if it works, but everyone thought it did. Everyone just knew to do it.”

For more fig flavor, stop by Crook’s Corner for Smith’s Soft Bellevue, a dish made with figs, country ham and mint vinaigrette.

In a 153-gram serving of figs, you’ll find: 120 calories, 11 percent of your daily potassium, 17 percent of your daily fiber, 8 percent of your calcium and 4 percent of your daily iron need. So eat up, they’re healthy!

—Jack Carley

Web Archive

© 2026 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme