How to Eat Figs the Right Way, According to Culinary Pros

Plump and pretty, fresh figs are always a treat. But as alluring as this fruit's teardrop shape may be, how to eat it can be confounding. We reached out to culinary professionals to find out the best ways to embrace fresh figs. We also picked up some great suggestions for enjoying this fruit baked, grilled, roasted, and dried.

How to Buy and Eat Figs

Figs (Ficus carica) are members of the mulberry family (Moraceae) and grow on small bushes and trees. Native to areas around the Asiatic Turkey and northern India, figs were first cultivated in ancient Rome and eventually mushroomed in popularity throughout the Mediterranean. Today, they flourish in Egypt, Greece, Iran, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, California, and beyond.

Finding Common Types of Figs

There are thousands of fig varieties worldwide, including common Smyrna, Calimyrna (the California version of the Smyrna fig), San Pedro, and Caprifigs. However, you will commonly find these two types of figs in your grocery store:

• Black Mission figs: Purplish-black on the exterior with strawberry-pink flesh and a rich flavor, this distinctive fig is available from mid-May through November.
• Calimyrna figs: Also called Smyrna or Turkish figs, this variety is widely cultivated and known for its light yellow-green skin, pink flesh, and honey flavor. They are usually available from July through September.

Buying Figs When Ripe

When it comes to enjoying this toothsome fruit, you must wait for that Goldilocks moment: "Figs are best eaten raw, but only when they are soft and ripe, and at their peak," says Ronna Welsh, author of The Nimble Cook and chef/owner of Purple Kale Kitchenworks, a cooking school in Brooklyn, NY.

Eating Figs Whole

Except for the stems, figs can be consumed whole. "Fresh figs can be eaten raw and whole—skins and seeds included!" says Regan DeBenedetto, director of operations at Spuntino Wine Bar & Italian Tapas in Clifton, NJ, and Garden City, NY.

How to Eat Fresh Figs

While figs are exceptional on their own, they work in so many other ways as well once you know how to cut and use the fruit's flavor in your dishes.

Cutting Fresh Figs

If you'd rather not pop the entire fruit into your mouth, just cut it. Here are some pointers:

• When cutting a fresh fig, use the appropriate paring knife, says DeBenedetto. She prefers to cut it lengthwise into quarters.
• Ripe figs are soft and will yield under a sharp knife, adds Welsh. She cuts them through the stem, rather than around the middle.
•  "If the figs are mushy and too soft to cut, they are overripe and will have lost some of their sweetness," adds Welsh.

Flavor Profile of Figs

Figs are sweet and jammy with a mixture of flavors from dried fruits to berries, says DeBenedetto. "The sweet, dried fruit flavors in figs are most prominent, comparable to dates and raisins," she says. "Darker fleshed figs have an overtone of rich honey with subtle berry flavors," adds Paola Vélez, pastry chef and author of Bodega Bakes. "Think fruit punch that has been sweetened with wild honey."

How to Pair Fresh Figs

Those jammy flavors are the perfect foil for other taste sensations. "They pair with a range of salty, spicy, or sharp ingredients, used sparingly," says Welsh. Here are some of the pros' favorite fig partners: 

• Tiny touches: "A perfectly ripe fig with a drizzle of honey, a squeeze of citrus, and olive oil is delightful," says Vélez.
• Cheese: Welsh teams figs with shaved cheeses, like manchego or Parmesan, while DeBenedetto considers fresh figs and burrata, topped with honey cream cheese and crushed almonds, a refreshing summertime appetizer.
• Salty or sweet: "I'd pair green figs with soft mild cheese, think brie, and darker figs with milk chocolate," says Vélez.
• Cured meats: Thin slices of prosciutto or salami are a go-to, says Welsh. DeBenedetto, another aficionado of classic sweet and salty combinations, notes that Spuntino features a fig and prosciutto pizza seasonally—"it's a fan favorite when it makes an appearance on our menu," she says.
• Briny bits: Welsh matches figs with "finely chopped toppings of briny things like oil-cured olives and capers." 
• Leafy greens: Salads, like radicchio, with lemon dressing, are also fig-friendly. "Fresh figs pair beautifully with vinegar and nuts in salads," says DeBenedetto, adding that crispy fried prosciutto is a terrific garnish for a fig salad.
• Another keeper: Figs with vanilla ice cream, says Welsh.

How to Eat Cooked Figs

Something of a departure from raw figs, cooked figs bring something special to the table. "I think the best use for figs would be as a jam or coulis," says Vélez. "You can use that as a base for sorbet, icings, or dressing." From there, the options are infinite:

Baking and Broiling Figs

“Baking and broiling figs makes them especially soft and gives you a chance to caramelize their cut surfaces," says Welsh. With caramelization, the sugar content rises, and the texture becomes more jammy.

Like fresh figs, baked figs reach dessert nirvana when served with vanilla gelato, and they can also star in baked goods. "Cuccidati are Sicilian fig-stuffed cookies and a delicate, tasty treat to complement any Italian dinner menu," says DeBenedetto.

Grilling and Roasting Figs

Grilled and roasted figs match well with savory dishes and meats, too. And don't forget a fresh fig's epicurean sidekick, cheese. Roasted figs are further heightened when stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with honey.

Don't Forget Dried Figs

The most accessible of all may be dried figs—after all, they can be found in grocery stores year-round. That said, they're far from mundane, especially when gussied up, once again, with prosciutto, or with other pantry ingredients. "I like to cut them in half, then marinate them in a syrup made with balsamic vinegar, sugar, and spices," says Welsh.