fig

But It doesn’t have the same ring if you say “green bananas and saltfish.”

I always wondered why we, in the Caribbean or at least in Trinidad and Tobago, refer to bananas as figs. So I’ve combed the internet looking for any information that would satisfy my ‘need to

Mind you, both are equally delightful in their own right, except one is readily available and even grown here in the Caribbean and the other, well, let’s say we may be lucky to find a jar of jam or a pre-packaged dessert with actual figs.

A fruit or not? - We refer to this as a fruit, but a fig is a syconium (a tiny group of inverted flowers growing inside a pod). The Fig is the edible part of the Ficus Carica, a small flowering plant. Cultivated since ancient times and, while native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it is now grown as a fruit and ornamental plant. Now while this is not necessarily a Caribbean fruit which means we are deviating from our original ambition to feature a “Caribbean fruit” in each issue, we feel that we have a solid connection to the Fig or at least the word.

The fruit is tear-shaped, 1 - 2 inches long, with a green skin that may ripen toward a beautiful and regal purple or brown color; its’ sweet soft reddish flesh contains numerous crunchy seeds. Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, but since ripe fruit does not transport and keep well, most commercial production is in dried and processed forms like jams, rolls, biscuits, or desserts.

Here are some other health benefits you can expect when you eat figs.

• Can reduce high blood pressure

• Improves digestion

• Increase bone density