Fig is a fruit. Fig is the fruit of a ficus tree. Unlike other rare and unique fruits like dragon fruits and pearls, fig also falls into the fruit category.
Fig has similarities in shape with a pearl fruit. Fig is soft, has seeds, and eat when it’s in dried condition.
In this garden gild guide we’ll discuss the following:
- Is fig a fruit or vegetable?
- What fruit type is a fig?
- Why is a fig called a false fruit?
- How to eat fig fruit?
- Male fig vs. female fig: What’s the difference?
Is fig a fruit or vegetable?
Fig is undoubtedly a fruit, and the ficus tree is the bearing of fig fruits. There are some major differences in differentiating between fruit and vegetable. They are:
Fruit:
- Fruits are a blessing of mother nature.
- There are many trees in nature, and most of those trees bear colorful, attractive products of a tree.
- Fruits contain seeds, flesh that can be soft or hard, and a protective skin over the fruit.
- Sometimes seeds can be eaten, and it’s completely normal, and other times they are not.
- Fruits are eaten raw, and there are multiple ways to enjoy fruits, like drinks or desserts.
- Fruits can be your great source of necessary nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fibres.
Vegetable:
- Vegetables are plants or parts of a plant that need to be cooked before eating.
- Some vegetables like cucumber, tomatoes, and lettuce can be eaten raw.
- Vegetables can grow under soil or above the soil.
- Unlike fruits, vegetables are best to have once or twice a week.
- Many tasty dishes can be made of vegetables.
- Vegetables have many benefits like reducing blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart attack, and preventing some types of cancer.
Fig has mainly 3 benefits that can even surprise you. They are:
- They have a sufficient amount of fibre which can provide you with digestive aid.
- Fig has nutrients like vitamins such as iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and many more.
- They have low fat and low calories.
What fruit type is a fig?
There is no exact category of fig, but it certainly falls under the subcategory of berries. Fig is a fruit of a Ficus carica or a ficus tree.
Thus, it falls under the Moraceae family, a category of small trees. It was a native plant in the Mediterranean and West Asia, but now it is cultivated worldwide.
Why is a fig called a false fruit?
Fig is commonly known as fruit and is cultivated worldwide nowadays. But something that can shock you is what lies inside the outer cover.
People who have eaten figs will tell you that it feels like you are eating a bunch of sweet flowers, unlike other fruits when you eat figs fruit. And that is why a fig is called a false fruit.
How to eat fig fruit?
Since fig is a fruit, it can also be eaten raw, unlike any other fruit. In fact, fig tastes better when eaten raw.
Fig has a sweet taste and a soft texture, making it easy and fun to eat in its raw form. The skin of a fig fruit is edible and can be eaten raw.
However, the skin is very thin, and you can barely notice that you’re eating a fig with its skin on it. The inside has a beautiful red color and many seeds.
Just like skin, seeds are also edible. In fact they will give you a crunchy feeling when you bite into those seeds. Just cut off the stem, and the fig is ready to be eaten.
If you like to be creative, you can scoop out the inside of fig and make juice out of its flesh. You can even make yourself a fig milkshake. Of course, you can also try a fig pizza!
Read also >> Is Rosemary A Vegetable, Fruit Or Herb?
Male fig vs. female fig: What’s the difference?
The male fig is the male wasp, and the female fig means the female wasp. Both these wasps are important for pollination.
Now that you have known mostly about the fig fruit, how does this plant pollinate?
Pollination is an important process through which a plant can be saved from getting extinct and make more plant sources. Since figs have no flowers that can bloom for the bees to pollinate, they depend on wasps.
The below method shows how the process works.
- When a female fig wasp enters inside a male fig, the wings and antennae break, and the wasp is trapped inside the male fig.
- The female wasp lays eggs all over the place.
- These baby wasps keep the family cycle running.
- Then the male wasps mate with the female wasps.
- The new female wasps carry on the pollen, and they process entirely rely on the female wasps.
- Male wasps do not have wings, so the pollination process entirely relies on the female wasps.
Health benefits of fig fruit >> Check out the video below:
Final thoughts
Fig fruits are a fantastic addition to all the fruits available around us. And this fruit indeed has its features. But it might not be best for you if you have an allergy problem.
This is because fig trees are found to have latex, and people might be allergic to this. But, overall, the fig is an excellent fruit for your taste buds, and it has many health benefits.
