The 2 Best Times Of The Year To Buy Fresh Figs

Fresh figs are a real seasonal treasure, offering luscious, perfumed flavors and visually-stunning shades from deep purple to almost white. Fig trees typically yield two distinct harvests each year – the early breba crop and the main crop. The breba crop forms on the previous year's wood and ripens 30–45 days before the main crop, which is more abundant and offers richer-flavored figs. The main crop ripens on new-season wood during mid-summer and early fall — and there you have it — the absolute two best times of the year to buy fresh figs. It's also the best time of year for glorious recipes like super tender herb and fig pot roast. 

Breba crops are important, too, though. Fig varieties such as desert king, violette de Bordeaux, and white Marseilles are prized for their reliable breba crops in cooler climates, offering an early season harvest. Though not as sweet as the main crop, they're perfect for tiding fig lovers over. Growers in the Pacific Northwest and northern California (like San Fran) often rely on the breba crop as their primary fig harvest, since short, cooler summers may not provide enough heat for the main crop to fully ripen. No matter when they arrive, all figs must be plucked straight from the tree, and that's because they don't continue to ripen once picked. They are harvested many times during the season and always clipped at the stem — a gentle, careful process. In Italy, fig season runs until the end of October, just in time to make delicious Sicilian cuccidati (Italian fig cookies) for the holidays.

Early season varieties, such as kadota, have thick skins and aren't as sweet, making them the perfect candidate for fig jam. Late-season varieties, including brown turkey, tend to be milder and less sweet with a soft bite that's nutty. That makes them the best type of fig to use in salads, and a fantastic accompaniment to any grazing board. These figs reach grocery shelves later in the season — a bonus as the early crop is already consumed. In warm states, you'll find fresh figs earlier in the summer, and in cooler climates, expect peak availability from late August into October. If you see fresh figs outside of mid-summer or early fall, check the label; they may be imports. That's not a bad thing, especially if you're hankering for a fig. But for the freshest fruit, shop your local markets in season.

Black mission figs tend to dominate American grocery-store shelves, particularly in California, where they were one of the first commercially grown varieties. Those deep purple, luscious black missions are the super sweet fig variety that's ideal for desserts, like roasting them and serving them with amaretti whipped cream. Adriatic figs are also good for dessert — they are very sweet but light in color, at times called white figs, or sold as candy-striped figs because of their green and white hues. Its deep red pulp tastes a bit like strawberries, and it's nothing short of perfection in a fig and raspberry galette.