Brown Turkey
Also known as California Brown Turkey, San Piero (often confused)
A widely planted, forgiving fig with brownish-purple skin and mild, amber-pink flesh. Not the most intense flavour, but productive and easy.
- Skin
- Brownish purple
- Flesh
- Amber to pale pink
- Size
- Medium to large
- Flavour
- Mild, sweet, low acidity
- Ripening
- Breba in early summer, main crop late summer
- Best use
- Mixed fig jam, cooking
Brown Turkey is one of the most commonly sold fig trees in nurseries, which means it is also one of the most commonly grown. It is adaptable, produces two crops in a good year, and forgives a lot of neglect.
The flavour is mild and sweet rather than complex. For jam that is not a fault: it takes well to lemon, vanilla or a little spice, and the fruit is large enough that a batch comes together quickly. Because the name has been attached to several different figs over the years, two 'Brown Turkey' trees from different sources are not always the same variety.
Origin
Old variety of uncertain origin; the name has been applied to more than one fig in Britain and the United States.
Crops and growth
- Breba crop
- Often produces a worthwhile breba crop
- Main crop
- Reliable
- Cold tolerance
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Vigorous, spreading