Eating figs with or without the peel?
The easiest way to eat figs is to enjoy them plain. To do this, simply halve the fruit – like a kiwi – and scoop out the sweet pulp. The small seeds of the fig are also edible. You can even eat figs with the peel on – but you should wash the fruit carefully beforehand as they are usually covered with a white coating.
Dried figs taste particularly sweet and aromatic. For example, use them as an addition to muesli. You can also use dried fruit when baking – it adds an exciting flavor component to muffins or fruit bread, for example.
Recognize ripe figs
Anyone who buys figs should consume or process them as quickly as possible, as they quickly lose their aroma when stored. You can recognize ripe fruits because they are soft but not mushy. It’s best to do a small pressure test when shopping.
Different varieties of figs can have different peel colors – from green to purple, the flesh is whitish-pink to red.
Eating figs: Combine with other ingredients
If you want to eat figs , there are a variety of tasty options. The fruits are ideal as an ingredient in various sweet dishes. For example, you can prepare a colorful fruit salad with figs. Nuts and honey perfectly round off the aroma of the Mediterranean fruit.
Starters with goat cheese and figs are also very popular – simply bake the fruit with cheese in the oven and then season as desired. You can also prepare figs as an addition to main dishes – the fruits add a lot of freshness and sweetness to a strong sauce, for example. They also go well with game, lamb, fish and vegetables such as fennel or eggplant.
Recipe: Baked balsamic figs with crispy prosciutto
Baked figs are a quick and easy appetizer.
Ingredients for three servings:
- 3 ripe figs
- 6 slices of prosciutto (Parma ham)
- 1 small piece of parmesan
- Balsamic
- olive oil
- fresh pepper
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees.
- Clean the figs with a damp kitchen towel and quarter the fruit. Be careful not to cut all the way through. They should still be connected at the bottom and be carefully bent apart.
- Brush the figs one at a time with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil and place them on an ovenproof plate.
- Grate the Parmesan into coarse shavings.
- Bake the prosciutto in the pan with a little olive oil until golden brown and crispy. Then place it on a piece of household roll so that the excess fat can drip off. Then break the prosciutto into bite-sized pieces.
- Bake the figs in the oven at 220 degrees on the top shelf under the grill until the tops of the figs turn dark – this takes about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Take them out of the oven and brush the figs again with a little balsamic vinegar.
- Carefully slide the prosciutto under the figs and spread the parmesan shavings over the baked figs.
The balsamic caramelizes due to the heat and develops a nice sour sweetness that goes well with the fruity sweetness of the figs.