Blog: Handy hints to help you get a ripe, delicious crop
It’s the beginning of October and fig Brown Turkey is full of green fruit – here’s how to ripen figs on the plant and indoors, plus how to use unripe fruit.
Firstly, check your variety and the fruit’s colour when ripe. Brown Turkey, the most common variety in the UK, is brown. However, other varieties can be green or striped. Read more on how to grow figs in the UK – and fresh figs for Christmas.
Next, you can tell when figs are ready to harvest when the fruit necks wilt and they hang down. If the fruit sticks out from the stem,it is unripe. Generally, unripe figs won’t continue to ripen once you pick them unless the process has already started. Ripe figs secrete nectar from its base and will be soft to the touch. Err on the side of leaving fruit overripe. Harvesting in the morning on a partly cloudy day is best.
How to harvest figs
Ripe figs are easy to harvest. As they’re soft, handle as little as possible to avoid bruising. Pull or cut the fruit gently from the stem, leaving some attached to the fig to help keep it fresh. Lie figs in a shallow dish and do not pack them tightly. Some people are allergic to fig sap (latex), causing itchy, painful dermatitis that can become worse when exposed to sunlight. Wear long sleeves and gloves when harvesting figs.
How to ripen figs – Storing fresh figs
Eat fresh, dry, or freeze figs as soon as possible. If you dry the figs in a cool oven or dehydrator, they will last for up to three years in the freezer. Alternatively, wash and dry the figs, place them on a baking sheet and freeze until hard, then transfer them to a container. Fresh figs will keep in the salad drawer of the fridge, away from fresh veg, for up to three days.
Can you get figs to ripen off the tree?
Most people say never pick an unripe fig – but that’s not strictly true. Figs are a climacteric fruit, which means they ripen (on the tree or not), when exposed to ethylene gas, produced naturally by the fruit. However, figs only respond to ethylene gas when they have already started to ripen. It will continue to ripen even off the tree. Unfortunately, the flavour and juiciness won’t be as good Hard, green fruit will never ripen.
How to ripen figs – Tips to improve ripening
Train on a wall into a fan shape: Spreading out the branches aids fruit ripening, as does the heat that radiates from a warm wall. Fan-trained figs need pruning twice a year. My fig is trained against a black-painted wall which faces west. This absorbs the heat during the day and releases it at night, which really helps.
Pinch out the figs: Figs bear their main season fruit on this season’s growth – you’ll only get main season figs at the end of the branch. Keep the new growth to a minimum by pinching out. Do this in spring after the plant sets its first leaves. Find the branches from this year’s growth – they should be green and supple. Count the leaves starting from the trunk side and pinch off the growing tip so that only five to six leaves remain.
You can pinch the ends off branches that have already set fruit to encourage the last figs to ripen. Do this around mid-September. Removing the tips of each branch when the tree has already set fruit will send its energy to ripen fruit.
Reduce the number of figs: If you forgot to pinch out, pick off the smallest, greenest fruit, furthest away from the trunk. This will ensure that the tree sends its energy into ripening the fruit. There will be fewer figs, but they’ll be more likely to ripen.
Oil the figs: Dot the eye of the fig with oil. Dip a cotton bud in olive oil olive oil and brush it lightly over the bottom of the fig. This seals the eye of the fruit, preventing ethylene gas from escaping and encourages the fig to ripen faster, in as little as two days.. Figs treated this way can ripen in as little as two days. This won’t work with underripe figs and can cause them to fall.
Paper bag and a ripe banana: Figs need an average daytime temperature of 15C to ripen. Any colder and the tree will enter dormancy. If a cold snap’s coming, pick fruit that starting to ripen and put put in a paper bag with a banana. Bananas have high quantities of ethylene gas, and will ripen figs which have started to mature.
Honey-preserved green figs
These are popular with cheeseboards and desserts. It’s a great way to use hard, green, unripe figs which keep their shape during cooking. Use heather honey instead of sugar for the best flavour. The fig-infused honey can be used on toast, with ice cream or yoghurt and granola. Soak the figs in salted water the night before you cook them. Wear gloves when cutting them, as some people are allergic to their latex sap.
Sea or Himalayan salt
500g small, unripe green figs
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
750ml heather honey (I use Hedgeley Honey)
Zest and juice of half a lemon
Fill a bowl with a litre of water, then stir in four teaspoons of salt until dissolved. Cut off the fig stalks, then cut a cross in the top of each fruit and prick all over with a skewer. Soak in the salt water overnight.
The next day, drain and wash the figs. Place them in a pan with 1.5l of fresh water, the bicarbonate of soda and three teaspoons of sea salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, cover and cook for 15-30 minutes, until the figs are tender.
Drain, return the figs to the pan, add the honey and another 50ml water, and bring to the boil. Cook gently over a low heat for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the figs turn translucent and the honey thickens. Spoon into sterilised jars and seal. The figs will keep for up to three months. Refrigerate once opened.
How to ripen figs outdoors in the UK updated 2025
