Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation New to me food item - Fig Leaves

Just tried these and they are really interesting. As a tea they have a nutty sort of coconut flavor. Smoke dried they are even more interesting. I am making a bitters that has fig leaves in it. Next I will make Thai grilled fish wrapped in fresh fig leaves and a coconut and fig leaf curry. Fig leaves can be used in curries, soups, stews, BBQ sauce and for baking. Can be used for anything that goes with coconut like jerked pork or chicken.

The fish recipe is easy just wrap the fish up with Thai Red curry paste, basil (hot, lemon, and sweet) some cilantro and grill to 140 degrees. The fish can be marinated in rice wine vinegar with soy and chilis if it is a stronger tasting or oily fish like mackerel or salmon. Add some sesame seed oil if it is a drier fish.
Anything wrapped in banana leaves can be adapted to fig leaves. You blanch them until soft and use however many needed to completely encase the fish.

Tejano, where'd you get fig leaves? I've never seen one.

Greek Festival canceled this year. Gonna have to do without the wonderful Dolmades them Graeae pumped out.

I am in hardiness Zone 7b...

I propagate about 40-50 fig trees every Spring from cuttings from 20+ fig trees. Mostly brown turkey. Anyone that would like to try one or two is welcomed to a plant free. From the tip of the roots to the top of the plant they are about 3 ft tall. I'm not sure how I would mail one, but if you have ideas please let me know. I can send pictures to anyone that is interested... via email.

As for fig leaves as a food source, never heard of that before. Fig leaves are very scratchy on their under side. But I will smoke some sometime and try them. Thanks for the information.

Indeed! I have dozen fig trees here, a couple varieties- a real bugger to have nurtured them to mature fig bearing age this far north. The fruit is used several ways but mainly me and the neighbors (and the deer, squirrels, birds, and coons) just gorge on them. I never dreamed that the leaves have a use too.

Looks like a good place for a question. I have a fig tree, Brown Turkey supposedly. Never puts on more than a dozen or so figs. Do I need something to cross pollinate? It is probably 20 feet tall with many trunks. Maybe I need to cut some off. Don't know. miles

Second tree wouldn't hurt. Others may differ, but I keep them trimmed short-ish and don't lop the lower branches/trunks as that's where the majority of fruit forms, or so it seems. The ones by the front walk and driveway get pruned a little more artfully but that's because they spread out and get in the way.

In my climate I figure if I can nurture one through the first couple winters I'm home free. Pray for a mild winter for the first one, or plan to insulate the youngster if it gets frigid cold. Learned that lesson the hard way with the first couple. But like I said, my spot on the map is dodgy at best for success with these things.

When I set mine out, I put it on the South side of a building, and put a wire tomato cage there that fall with a tarp around it. and after the leaves were gone put in some oak leaves that I raked. Still froze back to the ground but came back from the roots. Next winter did nothing and if froze some but not all of the growth from the second summer. Has not frozen since. miles

I even went so far as to tent a couple young ones during a bitter cold snap a few years ago, and stuck light bulbs in for a modicum of help. Don't know if it did the trick but they survived.

It's been rare here for it to drop into the teens but it does go there and lower sometimes. Defying Mother Nature can be troublesome!

In our zone the brown turkey seems to do the best. Chicago hardy and something else are supposed to also do well. I believe it's Celeste.

But maybe it's the soil also.

I propagate from cuttings Every Spring and identify which tree I take the cuttings from. The whites, green and blacks seem to struggle here more. We are on the water and it is salt so maybe there is salt humidity that I should factor in. Don't really know. The brown turkeys always seem to do the best.

It is fairly hard to kill a fig with cold weather, at least in my zone. We have had cold enough weather to freeze the saltwater. But the figs always comeback strong from the roots. You will probably be without substantial fruit for a few years if that happens. But we never seem to lose plants completely. I believe our original figs on this property are from around 1940 or so. Might be before not sure. Like I said above happy to give you a plant or two if you're ever in my neighborhood.

Thanks for mentioning that Chicago Hardy fig Cash.

I may have to look into getting one. We're on the border of 6 and 5 zones here. I've seen -24.9F on my home thermometer since we arrived in 2016. Not a frequent event, but it does happen.

Seems from what I was reading if I put it in the right place and protect the roots I may do OK with one. And, as they don't seem to get huge, if I ever get high tunnel I may just plant it in there.