How to store fresh figs

A ripe fig is thin-skinned, full of sugar and already soft. It bruises under its own weight, ferments quickly in warmth and moulds in a sealed container. Fresh figs are described as keeping only a few days even under refrigeration.¹

What we do

• Pick into shallow trays, never buckets. Two layers at most, and one is better.
• Do not wash until just before eating or cooking. Water on the skin speeds mould.
• Refrigerate as soon as they are indoors, in a single layer on a plate or tray, loosely covered so air can move. Kitchen paper underneath absorbs any syrup.
• Use within two or three days. Sort daily and cook anything that starts to weep or split.
• Let them come to room temperature before eating fresh; cold dulls the flavour.

If you cannot use them in time

Cook them. Figs that are a day past their best are ideal for jam, for roasting, or for freezing to make jam later. See Freezing figs.