Ripe Gillette Figs

Most people eat Gillette Figs long before they are actually ripe. This leads to a bad impression about the quality of Gillettes! Normally the eye of a Gillette will be dry of necessity as it is a Caprifig and an emerging female Blastophaga Wasp must get coated with dry pollen as she leaves the Caprifig in order to pollinate the Fig she nests in. The following photos are a series of the same Gillette Figs on different days until picked:

#186-8626 September 11, 2008, neither fig is ripe! #186-8630 September 13, 2008, the left fig is approaching ripeness. It was picked prematurely the following day to assure the birds wouldn’t eat it.

#186-8636 September 15, 2008, the remaining Gillette still isn’t ripe. #186-8685 September 17, 2008, the remaining Gillette still isn’t ripe. It was picked prematurely but at an acceptable level of ripeness the following day for a taste-test on Bainbridge Island.

#186-8691 September 18,2008. #186-8686 September 17, 2008 Gillette 2, the intended taste-test fig.

#186-8692 September 18,2008. Gillette 2. Leftovers anyone? #186-8688 September 17, 2008 Left to right from top: Negronne, 2 Tilbury’s Turkey, 2 Vashon Violet, Petit Negri, and a fig mis-identified as “Magnolia”. #186-8697 September 18,2008 Photo taken indoors at Bainbridge Island taste-test. Half of each Vashon Violet, “Magnolia”, Tilbury’s Turkey, half of Petit Negri, the Gillette picked in the morning, & Negronne.

Enjoy!, kiwibob