BILL SMITH
THE DAILY IBERIAN

Celeste, Southeastern Brown Turkey, Hunt, Kadota, LSU Purple, LSU Gold, Alma, Hardy Chicago, O’Rourke, Champagne or Tiger. What is this you ask?

These are a good source of fruit sugars for energy, has about 37 calories and low in fat, saturated fat and sodium and are cholesterol-free. It is the Louisiana fig varieties.

(Use arrows above to view more photos) Advertisement

The fig season is nearing the end and for those connoisseurs of one of the first fruits cultivated by ancient peoples it is a time for Gateau de Figue, or a Cajun Fig Cake, fig preserves and other delicacies made with the popular fruit.

Many residents of South Louisiana enjoy the sweet treat and either have fig trees in their backyards or know someone who does, writes Mandy G. Armentor, nutritionists with the LSU AgCenter for Iberia and Vermilion parishes. Armentor states that in addition to being low in fat, saturated fat and sodium, figs are a source of dietary fiber, iron, calcium and potassium.

“Figs freeze well with or without sugar, peeled or unpeeled. To freeze figs without sugar, wash ripe figs thoroughly, remove stems and peel if you want, leave whole or cut in half.” Armentor writes in her newsletter.

Armentor recommends that the figs be sprinkled with ascorbic acid that has been mixed with water. She suggests placing the figs on a backing sheet and freeze quickly. Once frozen, package tightly in freezer bags or containers. Try to avoid air pockets between figs if possible. She recommends to crumple waxed paper and place in the headspace, seal airtight and store in the freezer.

The Celeste variety of fig is a popular type that is grown throughout the state. The fruit is small to medium and is purplish-bronze to light brown with a light, strawberry-colored pulp. The fruit has a closed eye and ripens in late June and July. It is an excellent choice for eating fresh, canning and preserving. This information was obtained from the LSU AgCenter Web site.

This information states that some varieties are more suitable for eating than others. Some varieties, such as the LSU Purple, will produce a heavy main crop in July, followed by a later crop that often lasts into December.

The information about figs states that figs can be enjoyed all year long by simple methods of food preservation such as fig preserves and jam, canned, pickled, oven-dried or even sun-dried figs.

When storing dried figs, it may be necessary to pasteurize the figs to destroy insect eggs. To destroy insects, the newsletter suggests you place the packaged figs in the freezer for 48 hours, then removed from packaging and re-package promptly for permanent storage.

Another method of pasteurization is to place the figs in a 150 degree oven for 30 minutes and then cool.

If you are unfortunate enough to have no access to fresh figs, visit the Teche Area Farmer’s Market.

You are sure to find fig preserves and jams for sale.