The fig is considered a false fruit. It is a receptacle that contains hundreds of small fruits that are commonly called pips. It is used for consumption in fresh, dried, as puree for confectionery, tinned or crystallized.

The raw and dry fig is highly nutritious and a rich source of dietetic fibber, potassium, proteins, minerals (iron, phosphorus, magnesium, copper and zinc) and vitamins (riboflavin and vitamin B6).

The fig is considered a false fruit. It is a receptacle that contains hundreds of small fruits that are commonly called pips. It is used for consumption in fresh, dried, as puree for confectionery, tinned or crystallized.

Figs are very fragile fruits, thus their preservation in good conditions is somehow difficult. That is why the commercial importance of dry and tinned figs has increased.

Since it is a perishable fruit, mature figs do not last more than 3 days in the fridge.

The first fruit of the fig tree, produced at the end of spring, is called breba. Its fine skin and its flavour are similar to the those of the figs, although they are not so sweet.

In addition to the consumption in fresh, figs are also used to make puree for stuffing in different confectionery products or even to obtain a kind of wine.

Among the by-products, the most important ones are dried figs, obtained by means of drying the fresh fruit. Its humidity is reduced from 80% to 15%, so that the fig’s nutritious compounds concentrate.

Its time of preservation is high. The fruit is flat, flexible, grey-violet or brown with a yellowish pulp and a bit viscous. Along with raisins, they are one of the most popular and old dried fruits.

Another common use is tinned fruit, made with very small and sweet autumn figs, to which they add sugar and a liquor, like rum, cognac or sherry.

Crystallized figs usually appear in tin plate boxes. To make figs in alcohol they require small dark coloured figs, consistent but not mature yet.

If figs are roasted and ground, the dust can be used as substitute for coffee.

Figs, contrary to what people think, are not fruit. It is a fleshy receptacle called syconium, with a pear shape, that contains the masculine and feminine flowers that will bear small fruits named "achenes", and commonly known as pips. It is therefore a multiple fruit. The fleshy and sweet part of the fig or syconium corresponds to the flowers that after fertilization will swell up and become fleshy. Figs are, therefore, soft fruits, with a thin skin whose colour varies from green to purple, while the flesh is red or white. Depending on the species, it is round or flattened, although its shape is usually wider than high.

The fig tree, like other fruit trees from dry areas, is scarcely known in agronomy. Its culture is traditionally of dry land, although at the moment the surface of irrigated land is increasing for certain varieties with greater economic profit.

Figs grow in plants called fig trees, robust trees that can reach 10 meters. Their roots are very powerful and the development of their small flowers results in what we call the fig.

Figs belong to the species Ficus carica and grow in great trees called fig trees that can surpass 10 meters of height, but that in commercial plantations are usually kept as small trees of 3 to 4 branches.

The leaves are green with rigid and strong hairs in the reverse. The trunk is heavy and twisted.

The branches of the tree have no flowers, since they develop inside the fruit and are very small. The whole receptacle of the flower becomes fleshy when it matures, and this is why figs are included in the category of false fruit.

The root system is very powerful. This allows its soil introduction to great depth and surface, supporting long periods of drought. They have even found fig trees on rock cracks.

The fig tree adapts to a great variety of soils, although it is more productive when they are deep and fertile. It is a tropical and tempered area plant, but low temperatures are more limiting. Temperatures over 40ºC during the period of maturation cause fruits to ripen and varies the consistency of the shell.