North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Suzi Teghtmeyer <srt175f@smsu.edu>]

When in doubt, go the literature!

From the source:
Eisen, Gustav. The Fig: Its History, Culture and Curing. Bulletin No. 9, 
Division of Pomology, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1902. page 57.

Oiling the Figs.
In Southern France - in Argenteuil and in Frette - a process is performed 
called "appeter les figues" or hastening the figs. In Argenteuil and in 
Frette it is employed on all the figs which are desired to ripen early, the 
proper time for this process being of the utmost importance. If done too 
early the figs will not ripen at all, but will dry and spoil. The proper 
time is when the figs begin to color and the skin begins to feel soft, or 
about 17 days before it would regularly mature if left alone. Toward 
evening, if possible, a single drop of good olive oil is place on the eye 
of the fig, care being taken not to spread the oil. The oil is placed on 
the eye by means of a wheat straw and in such a way as to touch only the 
center of the eye. The next day the fig shows a change and in nine or ten 
days it may be cut, perfectly ripe, the operation having hastened the 
ripening of the fig certainly from six to eight days. Such treated figs are 
also better, sweeter, and with smaller seeds than those which have not been 
oiled.
-------------------------------------

-----Suzi Teghtmeyer
Librarian, Paul Evans Library of Fruit Science
Southwest Missouri State University Mtn. Grove Campus and Missouri Fruit 
Experiment Station
9740 Red Spring Rd, Mountain Grove, MO 65711
Phone: 417-926-4105, Fax: 417-926-6646,  email: srt175f@smsu.edu
URL: http://library.smsu.edu/paulevans/
AgNIC Viticulture site: http://library.smsu.edu/paulevans/viticulture1.shtml
Member: CBHL, USAIN, ALA, ACRL, IAALD


At 03:43 PM 09/05/2003 -0400, longdistshtr wrote:
> mIEKAL, I'm going to give it a bloody go also.  I've noticed that the later
> the fig ripens, the lousier the taste. Mine are starting to lose flavor
> already.
> Lon, Ray Givan or A.J. Bullard said it works but I don't know how much oil
> either. Maybe one of them could enlighten us.
> As has been discussed previously, location maybe yards apart or the cuttings
> from different parts of the parent fig bush could possibly cause late
> ripening. I'm going to experiment a little more to try to find out why some
> of my bushes ripen too late. If they just started here, frost will do them
> in before they ripen. Bullard goes to extreme measures to keep cold weather
> from winter killing the tops.
> Hope we find that this will produce an edible fig.
> Doc Lisenby
> Zone 7/8