Steps

• Let’s now see how to dry fresh figs. First of all, you need a wooden board or plank, so that it can absorb the moisture from the fruits.

• In grandmothers’ times, bamboo mats were used, those that are now used to shade garden areas or balconies.

• Being equipped with slits, those between one cane and another, the fruits dried faster as the hot air circulated better.

• The same result is achieved by placing a kitchen cloth on a wooden surface, such as a board, or using grates.

• If the figs are small and the sun is still very hot, leave the fruits whole and arrange them on the table, or grate, spacing them apart.

• If, however, they are slightly larger fruits, with more pulp and more liquids, it would be advisable to cut them in half, positioning them with the cut side facing the sun.

  

• Figs should be kept outdoors as long as the sun is strong, but at sunset it would be better to bring them inside, to avoid that, with the night humidity, they take longer to dry.

• When the figs appear with a beige skin and are pasty when squeezed between fingers, then it’s time for storage.

• Whole dried figs should be stored as they are, while cut ones need to be “reassembled” by placing the two parts on top of each other and pressing with fingers (only the skin should be visible from outside).

• In grandmothers’ times, it was also common to create a sort of necklace by threading a cotton or string through each dried fig. These necklaces were then hung in cool, dry places.

  

• Once dried, the fruits are stored in the freezer in a paper bag until they need to be used.

  

• If you do not want to store them in the freezer, then immerse them in boiling water for a few minutes, then remove them with a skimmer and leave them in the sun for a few more days.

• During the Christmas season, they are taken out, ground, and cooked along with almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, chocolate. This mixture is used to stuff bread before baking it and sweets.