By Cindy Walker Burton

Figuratively speaking, they’re not a figment of your imagination. Their popularity has been transfigured. They’re no longer configured as simply Newtons. I figure that your preconfigured notion about them will change after you read this.

Their sweet flavor is featured in cocktails and mocktails, butters and breakfasts, lattes and kombuchas, cookies and jams, ice cream and tarts, granola and dried chips. They’ve debuted in shampoos, moisturizers, anti-aging serums, and exfoliants. They’re gut healthy and nutritionally wealthy. They’re in smoothies and very soothey. They’re ancient yet trendy and easy to blendy. What on earth are they? Figs! Go FIGure.

FUN FIG FACTS

A fig is an inverted flower called a syconium. Figs were first cultivated around 9200 B.C. Figs are high in fiber, potassium, iron, magnesium, and calcium, and are 55% sugar. There are 900 species of fig. Figs made their first commercial appearance in 1892 as Fig Newtons. Fig consumption in America reached 47K tons in 2024. Go FIGure!

Here are some reasons for the explosion in fig popularity as cited by The American Fig Company:

They’re gut healthy: Figs are a prebiotic, nourish the gut microbiome, and aid digestion. They’re nutritious: Figs are rich in minerals, antioxidants, natural sugar, and fiber. They’re farm friendly: Figs require minimal irrigation and thrive in dry climates. They are not dependent upon honeybees for pollination and grow productively for 50-100 years.

FIG ENCOUNTERS OF THE CLOSE KIND

Forbidden Fig. After Eve chomped on forbidden fruit (some biblical scholars argue it was a fig, not an apple), she and Adam covered themselves with naturally grown, environmentally conscious, God-approved, Garden of Eden brand fig leaves (not a subsidiary of Fruit of the Loom).

Figs vs. Furuncle. In 2 Kings 20:7, King Hezekiah’s infected septic boil (furuncle) was cured by applying a poultice of mashed figs.

Hidden Figures. Cleopatra allegedly died from the bite of a venomous asp hidden in a basket of figs.

Figurine. Buddha found enlightenment while sitting under a fig tree.

Fig Fantasy. The mythical founders of Rome, Remus and Romulus, were sheltered by a fig tree on the Tiber River bank.

A Swig of Fig. In the 19th century, German immigrant Fridolin Madlener of Chicago created fig rye. Prost! Cheers!

Mission Impossible Fig. In 1769, Spanish missionaries brought fig branches to the territory that would become California, thereby introducing the Mission fig.

Fig: the elite neat sweet complete treat that can also tenderize meat. Go FIGure!