Ficus carica L.
Originally from the Mediterranean, the fig appears in culinary records dating back to ancient Greeks and Romans. In Brazil, it arrived with the Portuguese colonizers in the sixteenth century. The skin in different varieties goes from green to purplish-black, all of them have soft and delicate flesh, which can be enjoyed both in sweet or savory preparations: in salads, bruschettas, alongside prosciutto and goat cheese, in sauces and pies. Two traditional recipes in Brazil are the candied green figs and the compote consisting of green figs poached in heavy sugar syrup, prepared in large copper pots (called tachos) in several country cities throughout Brazil. The major producing states are Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais and São Paulo; the season runs from December to April.
