If you’re looking for fresh, juicy, sweet, lush figs, look no further than Prince Albert in the late summer. They’re everywhere, and served with just about anything. And it’s heavenly.
By way of chance we managed to time our stay last year in Prince Albert just as the local fig crops were ready for harvest. Every shop in town had a bowl of perfectly pink figs available on offer. Of course, faced with this, we had no choice but to go seek out the source of these garden of Eden fruits, and our search led us to Weltevrede Fig and Guest Farm in the striking Weltevrede Valley, just a short drive outside of town.
Liezl is the sixth generation of her family living and working on the farm – one of the first to grow figs in South Africa. The family has been there long enough to have encountered the ‘Die Hel’, a small community of self-sufficient people who settled in a remote and idyllic neighbouring valley in the past.
While the people of Die Hel have moved on, Weltevrede Farm is going strong. These days the farm focuses primarily on the figs – fresh and naturally dried – but in the past the farm was more diversified and there are remnants of this heritage in the fruit trees along the river: quince, pomegranate, and guavas.
Figs drying in the hot Karoo sun - a perfectly solar powered dehydrating machine
There are now over 1 000 fig trees on the farm growing different varieties of figs: Adam, Cape Brown, and Genoa figs – just a drop in the ocean of the 700 odd varieties of figs in the world. You’ll find their fresh Adams figs at your local Woolworths store during the summer months. Their range of products also includes dry figs and fig jams (with green and ripe variations).
During the harvest the figs are picked by hand. We were pleased to hear that virtually no chemicals are used on the farm, and the fruits are not sprayed. Visitors staying in the beautiful guest houses (one of which is frequently visited by a family of giraffes) are able to pick and devour the ripe fruits directly from the trees without any risk to their health.
Their dried fig products are created using the intense ‘solar power’ of the Karoo sun. The drying process occurs outside in the baking heat where the figs are turned dailly, taking between three days (at the peak of summer) and seven days (in the cooler autumn weather) to to dry.
Figs 101
- Figs are native to the Middle East where they have been cultivated for many centuries. They like to grow in dry, sunny areas which makes the Karoo the ideal place to grow them in South Africa.
- Figs are a great source of calcium and fibre. Figs are also a good source of copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium and vitamin K.
- Watch out though, they can have a laxative effect, which is a good or bad thing depending on your situation.
- According to legend, Buddha achieved enlightenment under an old, sacred fig tree (the bodhi tree).
- Figs might also add some spice to your life; they have been used traditionally as an aphrodisiac – once such remedy suggests soaking some figs overnight in milk and consuming them the next morning.
Weltevrede Fig and Guest Farm
There are three cottages on Weltevrede Fig Farm, with rates starting from R400 a person.
Contact tel 023-541-1229, email [email protected], www.figfarm.co.za.
