Hi fellow hivers and foodies. It’s fig season in Japan and @bearmol and I recently went to a little farm to do fig-picking. It was our first time to do it so I was a bit excited. The location was familiar because we had gone strawberry picking at the same farm some years ago. The fig area was a bit farther than the strawberry area. Somehow we got through with a same-day reservation. I think usually one has to make a reservation at least one day in advance. Fruit-picking was the perfect event to cheer me up as we had just sent our kids off to camp and I was missing them. @bearmol seemed to be quite okay and tried to cheer me up by doing and saying silly things to make me laugh.
At the Fig Farm
When we got to the farm, we were given baskets and cutters for picking. We were told how to cut the figs and what figs were fit for picking. We were even given a chart. On the chart, “X” represented the figs that weren’t fit for picking and “O” represented the ones fit for picking. “X” basically meant the figs were too young or not purple enough. The dark purple color is an indication that the fruit is ripe. I know that there are other kinds of figs that aren’t purple when ripe. I wonder what the picking criteria are for those types.
Fig-picking sign at the location. Ichijiku(いちじく) is the Japanese word for fig.
The chart indicating the ideal fruits to be picked and the ones that shouldn’t be picked.
The basket and cutter for fig-picking.
Time for Picking
There were two options for picking. Option one was all-you-can eat for forty-minutes. Customers pay a fixed price and then pick and eat all they can in the allotted time. We chose the second option which was to pick the amount we wanted, weigh it and then pay per gram.
We put on our gloves and started our little hunt for figs. While picking, we could hear other customers eating and saying how delicious the figs were. At one point I started wondering if we should have chosen option one but we wouldn’t have wanted to eat too many figs all at once. We could see figs at different stages of development.
Playing Around on the Farm
We played around a bit while picking. We noticed that one of the farmers was trimming some of the leaves. We used some of the leaves in our “photo shoot”. We picked about nine or ten figs in all. The leaves were relatively big so I’m some sections we had to carefully look got the figs in
case that they were ‘hidden”. Fig-picking was fun.
Leaving The Farm
We weighed our fruits, made the payment and said bye to other customers that we met. Some of them were still eating figs. They left the picking area but still sat to enjoy more figs. We couldn’t help but notice the beautiful neighboring rice fields. We took a few shots before leaving the area. Soon after we got in the car, we ate some of the figs. They were sweet and delicious.
From Farm to Table
The day after we went to the farm, I made a simple fruit plate using some of the figs and a few grapes that we had left in the refrigerator. I washed and cut the figs in slices and made some flower-like arrangements. Fresh figs are soft and delicate. I believe it’s best to have them soon after they’re cut.
Figs from the farm.
Grapes left in the refrigerator.
Presentation Plate
I chose two of the figs for the fruit plate.
I cut them open and realized the base of the figs were a bit too soft. I cut them off and then cut them in slices.
Fig slices
I used a small cutter to make thin slices of grape and then arranged the the fig and grape slices on the plate.
This was a delicious treat. Do you know the figgy pudding song often sung at Christmas time?
“Oh bring me some figgy pudding”
Believe it or not, I just found out a few days ago that figgy pudding is an actual pudding or treat made from figs. I didn’t know that. I just sang the song. Lol!
I didn’t grow up around figs and first had it here in Japan. It’s still relatively new to me.
Now I have an appreciation for it.
How do you usually prepare or eat figs?
Thank you for reading my post. Have a lovely weekend. 😃🎶
Good morning @fruityfruitz, very interesting your tour in the fig farm, it's a beautiful place, well kept and the figs look delicious, that's great in the beautiful pictures of your post; however I will make the following suggestion: Next time you have a content related to farms, crops, etc., you could share that specific part in a post for an agriculture community, like Agricultural Mindset or Hive Garden could be; and elaborate another post with a good recipe from the food you have collected, to share it here, in Foodies Bee Hive. Thank you.
🎶Have a lovely weekend.😃Thank you @foodiesunite. The fig experience was wonderful. Thank you for your suggestion re posting to an agricultural community. I understand and appreciate it.
Hi !
It looks like ya'll had a lot of fun. That is such a nice, clean looking fig farm.
When I read "one was all-you-can eat for forty-minutes".... it made me laugh ! I never heard of such a thing. I think I would have chosen the option you did though.
When I read that you said you got 9 or 10 figs, I thought "that does not sound like many", but then I saw your baskets and realized those figs are much bigger than the ones I am familiar with here. My Mom has some fig bushes in her yard and some years they have so many figs that she gives as many away as possible.
I did not grow up around figs, even though it seems some kinds grow well here. My Mom remarried after my father passed years ago and my stepdad loved the figs. That is why they planted them. He grew up in a very financially poor family and when they were children, sweet figs were a wonderful treat to them. He was a hard worker and did very well in his adult life, but the childhood memories kept his love for figs strong.
I did know that figgy pudding was a real pudding, but I had never seen or heard of it locally. It didn't sound good to me ! ha ha... but I bet it is.
I like your plated fruit art. 😊
The all-you-can-eat concept is common here at farms. I think the fig experience is kind of rare but the concept is more common at strawberry, grape, pear, peach and apple farms.
😆”All-you-can-eat” sounds good but can be tricky. One can eat so much and no more of one thing. Lol!! I tried it at a pear farm. The pears were so big, juicy and filling. I could only eat two. Three would have been a stretch. A friend of mine can really handle large quantities of food. He had a lot of pears but had to visit the restroom quite often. All that juice and fiber gave way. 😂😂🤣🤣 I always use his experience to gauge what I might be able to handle at a farm. Strawberries, I can do but I didn’t want to get too figgy. Lol!😃Thanks @jacey.boldart. Yes, it was fun especially because it was a new experience.
When I read that you said you got 9 or 10 figs, I thought "that does not sound like many", but then I saw your baskets and realized those figs are much bigger than the ones I am familiar with here. My Mom has some fig bushes in her yard and some years they have so many figs that she gives as many away as possible.
I did not grow up around figs, even though it seems some kinds grow well here. My Mom remarried after my father passed years ago and my stepdad loved the figs. That is why they planted them. He grew up in a very financially poor family and when they were children, sweet figs were a wonderful treat to them. He was a hard worker and did very well in his adult life, but the childhood memories kept his love for figs strong.
😃Thanks re the fruit art.
That figgy pudding got me. A friend of mine was gifted a box of figs. She researched some recipes and that’s when she realized figgy pudding was really a thing. When she told me, we cracked up at how we sang the song but really didn’t know what we were singing. 😂🤣🤣
Have a lovely weekend. 🎶
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This fruit and plant look so familiar. It seems it's something I've seen before, in our bush to be precise but we don't eat them, we clear them off during bush clearing for farm. Since I know it's edible, I'm gonna try it one day🤭
That’s quite interesting. I see the fruits at the supermarket but hardly ever see the plants around. I hear the fruits are a good source of iron.
Give it a try. 😃
Thanks for stopping by.🎶
Probably because of people withdrawing their reservation.
I don't think I've ever had figs and also don't think they grow them here in Suriname. Also, I would've gone with option two because I don't like to be restricted by time.
Yes, maybe some people canceled their reservation. That worked out well for us. 😃
I think 40 minutes is a good time but I also don’t like feeling rushed and I’m good with having just 2-3 figs over a several hours. Lol
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