What Can't Figs Be Eaten With? Plus Overwintering Methods and Ripening Time

The fig is a flowering plant, mainly growing in some tropical and temperate regions. There are currently eight hundred known varieties of figs, the vast majority of which are evergreen varieties. Besides being eaten fresh and used medicinally, figs can also be processed into dried figs, preserved fruit, jam, juice, fruit tea, fruit wine, beverages, canned goods, and more. So what can't figs be eaten with? How do figs overwinter? What are the precautions for eating figs? And when do figs ripen?

I. What Can't Figs Be Eaten With

Figs should not be eaten with cold-natured foods

The fig is a natural laxative, and after eating it has a relatively strong effect of promoting urination and bowel movements, while cold-natured foods carry a rich cold energy, and after eating they will noticeably reduce gastrointestinal function and also have a certain effect of causing diarrhea; eating the two together very easily leads to diarrhea.

Figs are not suitable to be eaten with high-sugar foods

Ripe figs taste sweet and contain relatively much sugar, such as glucose, fructose, and starch, and after eating they will also quickly increase the sugar content in the blood; if they are then eaten together with other high-sugar foods, it is very easy to cause excessively high blood sugar, bring about the condition of high blood sugar, and cause obesity.

Common high-sugar foods: granulated sugar, candy, pastries, honey, etc.

Figs are not suitable to be eaten with overly sour foods

Figs contain a large amount of plant acids, and after eating they have a certain irritating effect on the stomach and intestines, while sour foods also contain relatively much acid; eating these two types of food together causes too much irritation to the stomach and intestines, causing the stomach to secrete a large amount of gastric acid; in mild cases the condition of gastric acid appears, and in severe cases it may even damage the gastrointestinal mucosa, causing gastrointestinal inflammation and gastrointestinal ulcers.

II. How Do Figs Overwinter?

1. Water control

Fig trees are extremely prone to freezing damage when the soil lacks water, so before overwintering the soil should be watered sufficiently, to replenish the water the plant consumed and transpired in autumn; sufficient water can raise the surface temperature and increase the plant's cold resistance.

2. Burying in soil

Burying in soil is also a very practical overwintering method; before the winter freeze, prune the plant, cutting off some unnecessary branches and leaves to reduce nutrient consumption. Then bury the plant's main trunk into the soil; the soil should be even, and the height should be at least 10cm. Also regularly check and add more covering soil; once winter has passed and the soil thaws, immediately remove the soil, then water promptly.

3. Whitewashing and tying straw ropes

Whitewashing and tying straw ropes are the most common cold-protection measures, and we often see them in daily life; every winter we can see the trunks of trees on streets and in alleys coated with white, and some are also tied with straw ropes. Whitewashing can reduce the fig tree's absorption of solar heat energy and prevent frost damage; tying straw ropes is even more obvious, as it puts a coat on the tree and can achieve a warming effect.

III. Precautions for Eating Figs

1. Friends with loose and thin stools should not eat figs raw.

2. Patients with cerebrovascular disease, fatty liver, diarrhea, normal-potassium periodic paralysis, etc. should not eat figs.

3. After ripening, figs are very easily contaminated by fungi and insects; therefore, figs should not be eaten in large amounts, nor are they suitable to be eaten raw, so as to avoid diarrhea.

IV. When Do Figs Ripen?

The fig's flowering period is April——May, and the fruit can form and set from mid-June to October. Many people think it ripens twice a year, but in fact it produces fruit from June to October every year, and because the quality differs, the fruits are distinguished as two kinds, summer and autumn.