Figs in Algeria Are So Good! - Weird Fruit Explorer

Episode: 689 Algerian Figs
Species: Ficus carica
Location: Algiers, Algeria

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[WeirdExplorer]

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[anfelrosa]

Hello, I'm Algerian and we have fig trees in our garden for our own consumption, it basically as you said, but both the green one & the dark one looks like they've been picked early because if the ones left longer will be more sweet (we call it in local daridja Kartous كرطوس or Karmous كرموس ), there is another type which is dried out and usually the left figs in the tree in automn we dry them and pack them for later consumption as they take longer to rot (we consume them with olive oil or sometimes conserve them in jars filled with olive oil too).

[limbokid]

the early figs called "bakour" which means "the one that comes early" it ripens around june, and the regular figs ripe around August to September, and they grow on the same tree, the black figs however grow in a different figs tree.

[sazji]

There's an island in Turkey called İmroz/Imvros/Gökçeada, that formerly had a mostly Greek population. One old guy spent his life collecting fig varieties everywhere he went, and planted them on one piece of land. There is every size, shape, color and flavor.

[pjpscandeias]

They are different varieties, in Portugal we have many different varieties of figs. If the figs are dry inside they are no good, the best figs have something like honey inside. A good tip for choosing the best figs is to choose the ones with cracked skin.

[gspahr]

Cool video! I used to live as a child in Algiers, so this strikes a melancholic chord in my mind.
I heard several times from my mom that figs in Algeria used to be pretty good when we lived there. She also says the Algerian dates are much better than in other Arab countries.

[ClanEATCastingCrew]

Hey, I grow and sell figs for a hobby. Wanted to answer your question around 1:15 in this video. An early fig isn't an unripe one, it's just one that produces earlier than other varieties. There are early figs, standard figs and late figs. Early fig examples here in the States would include Celeste, Pastiliere, Oak St Unk, those types of figs. Standard figs are your Brown Turkeys and adriatic figs and whatnot. Later figs tend to be like your Black Madeiras and Black Zadars.

There's also a chance that by early they mean "Breba" which is typically called the first-crop fig, whereas most figs are sought for the main crop, or the second crop.

[jeenadjo]

Im from the eastern side of Algeria and pretty much every house in my hometown has a an apricot tree or a fig tree or a grapevine or all of the above and more if the house has got a larger garden. The summer was always a joyful time due to the amount of fresh fruit people get from those trees. I live abroad now and i miss the taste of fresh fruit from home.

[mamaharumi]

There is nothing better than fresh figs. I grew up with two large fig trees, we'd eat as many fresh as possible, the rest were preserved, dried, or pickled. Those trees produced so much fruit, man. Unfortunately, they were destroyed a few years back in Hurricane Harvey. I miss them so much and no shops in my area carry them.

[garunixreborn]

The green taste you got is because the fig still wasn't ripe. When fully ripe, figs are super sweet and full of jam. They also become very soft, almost mushy, have torn skin, and sometimes honey dripping out of the flower. Also they do not have any white sap inside of them, and the white flesh turns into a translucent green-yellow colour. Basically with figs, the worse looking ones are usually the best ones.

[StuffandThings_]

That green one might be a Desert King judging by the description and looks, and the "early" part probably refers to its Breba crop (the first crop that appears on old wood) as DK really only produces Brebas. The other one be a "Long D'aout" fig, but I really can't tell since there are so many vaguely long, dark figs with Breba crop production. The fact that Algeria was a former French colony and Long D'aout is a French variety lends a little credence to that theory. Figs don't really change from green to black with ripening quite like that, unless its a *really* unripe fig, so those are 100% different varieties.

[martrew]

They grow here in Italy too, and i love them, they're probably not exactly like them but they really similar.
The green ones are indeed ripen they do not take color, but inside they take a red color a lot and when they are perfectly ripen a sugar droplet comes out of the little hole, that's the perfect time to get them, although the fig trees get swarmed by bugs.

[StuffandThings_]

You should try some figs in Spain, Portugal, and Italy, all of which are quite famous for their varieties and quality. Figs are a surprisingly underrated fruit considering their diversity, wide geographic distribution, ease of cultivation, and historical importance.

[simeklanac]

Early figs just means they are the ones that ripen eary. In Croatia we call the early figs saint Peters figs because they ripen arond the feast of saint Peter on 29th of June. Figs that ripen later in summer are much sweeater but can loose the sweetnes if it rains a lot.

[DeathMetalDerf]

Algeria had to be absolutely amazing! Someday I will get my big fruit adventure somewhere in the world, and you're a huge inspiration for that so thank you for sharing your adventures with all of us. I've got a huge list of possible places to go thanks to you. I hope everyone is doing well and having a great day!

[Magmafrost]

Fun fact about fig wasps: after the fig wasps are done with a fig, the fig digests them

[cristea_mihaela]

I had a green fig when I first went to Greece. It was a unique experience for me as I have only seen dried figs all my life. I can still remember the latexes sap it exuded when taken from the tree, how soft it was, the very pink and slimy interior and the sweet pomegranate like aroma.

[TheBookDoctor]

The green one looks identical to a variety called "Desert King" that I can grow in my yard in Seattle. They are green like that when fully ripe, and are absolutely incredible. That one you got looks really under-ripe; they should be falling apart soft and juicy with syrup when they're at their peak.

[eryck]

I tried a fresh fig picked from a tree in Spain once. It was nothing like the dried figs you get in Sweden, it was both sweet and a bit tart at the same time. Really delicious

[richardportman]

Figs are delicious. My grandparents had a fig tree back in the day. I think the variety was called Black Mission. Where i live now, you can still see fig trees in old people yards, but it is a different variety, more of a blonde or yellow color.
They are best when very ripe and soft. My grandmother would slice them into a bowl and add a little milk. Then we would wait a few hours while the milk clabbered.