Fig Season is Here

CHEF JAMIE HARSON DISPLAYING HER IMPROVED CELESTE FIGS

By Luke Butler, Jr.

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a fig tree in their backyard. I’m not sure what species it was, but I remember it would be me and my cousins’ make-believe castle. We’d make like queens and kings, running our society from the highest branches. Despite being all up in the tree, I don’t remember actually eating any of the figs. I naively thought they were old-people food since my grandparents seemed to enjoy them so much. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

My love story with figs began just last season while I was working as a prep cook for Scratch Farm Kitchen. My job was to cut bottomless buckets of figs, but the most difficult part was trying my hardest not to eat every eighth one I cut. I was mind blown that a fruit could taste so comforting and nurturing. Figs aren’t like grapes where you can just absent-mindedly crush a whole bag while watching a TV show. Figs hold this grounding power that makes you slow down to really enjoy what they have to offer.

The sweet and fleshy fruit is bright, but not bright in the same way a crisp apple or fresh satsuma is. They radiate this calming and secure-like energy making you feel like you are one with the ground below you and the world is rewarding you for taking care of it. Each one is like a reminder telling you everything is going to be okay.

In early July, Chef-Owner Jamie Harson of Scratch Farm Kitchen took me around her farm and showed me her 20+ fig trees. In my eyes, she is sort of like the “Mother of Figs.” Her “children”, the LSU Gold, Improved Celeste, Celeste, Italian Honey, and Brown Turkey varieties are all producing very well this season. The smell of the trees, the preservability, the low-maintenance...Jamie is infatuated with every aspect of the fig. When she talks about them, I can see in her eyes the tenderness and passion she has for figs. Jamie loves how figs are prolific in our growing zone making the fig experience unique to South Louisiana, “Not many other parts of the country get to enjoy figs on the level we do,” she said.

The LSU Ag Center states that Louisiana’s hot-humid climate is what allows fig trees to flourish in our region. Plus the added benefit of the infamous fig wasp not existing in Louisiana, most of our fig varieties have been selected to have a “closed eye” keeping the fruit from going sour with our humid and rainy summers.

Chef Jamie loves the versatility figs possess. The high quantity and quality of figs she harvests during fig season allows her to highlight them in multiple ways at the restaurant. They’ve featured the harvest fresh off the tree, in homemade jams, and also in savory applications like curry, étouffée, kimchi, and salsa.

Figs aren’t the easiest to come by if you don’t have your own tree. But luckily, some local businesses will have locally sourced figs in the spotlight this season such as: Graze Acadiana, a mother and daughter duo who make beautiful charcuterie boards and platters, cakes by Bread & Circus’s wonderful Molly Deshotels, Bonne Vie Macarons, Social Southern Table and Bar, Sunny Akers Family Farm and of course, Scratch Farm Kitchen.

Now when I eat figs, I think about the love my grandparents have for me and the other grandchildren. I’ll think about the passion Chef Jamie has for her crop. I’ll think about the smile it puts on my face when I bite into it. The power figs hold is this innate ability to connect, whether it be with the ground beneath your feet or the person next to you. When the calendar hits July, the days are a little brighter because fig season is here.

CHEF JAMIE HARSON HARVESTING HER LSU GOLD FIGS

ARTWORK BY EMILIA CICERO, @AYEMILIA ON INSTAGRAM

Luke is a senior Political Science major at UL who takes a strong liking to the creative and inventive influence that has been flowing through the Lafayette food scene. On top of being a student, Luke used to sweat it out on the food truck with the chefs from Scratch where he learned to really love food and all of the intricacies and experiences that come along with it. If you want to see what Luke is up to, you can check out his pieces here or on his Instagram page, @lukebutlerjr

Luke Butler, Jr.