For many people, the fruit drying process is a mystery. Unless it is written on the package, you do not know if the fruit is tray dried in the field (laid out on trays in the field to dry in the sun), if they dry on the tree or drop to the ground and dry. I was able to return to the fig orchards in Madera, California to show how figs dry over time in the field and how dried figs are harvested, packed and processed.
Table of Contents
How Are Figs Dried?
The most common form of drying figs for commercial growers in California is for them to be sun dried, where they dry in the field. This can either be that the figs dry on the tree and fall to the ground or they fall to the ground and complete the drying process there.
The main fig growing region in California is Madera, California, which is in the middle of California’s Central Valley, where the temperatures get very high in the summertime during fig season and help with the drying process.
Do Fig Growers Grow for Both the Fresh and Dried Markets?
California fig growers have two seasons (assuming they sell to the fresh market): a fresh fig harvest and a dried fig harvest. The great part about this is that there is minimal waste because the fruit that does not make it to the fresh market can be dried and sold to the dried market (as a whole dried fig or as fig paste).
How do Figs Grow?
When figs grow on the tree, they do not all grow at the same time, so there are multiple harvests. As you can see below, fresh figs are still growing on the same tree as figs that are drying out.
However, even with that, there are still a lot of fresh figs that do not get harvested. These figs end up drying on the tree and at the start of the dried fig season, large 10 to 12 foot fans are brought into the field to blow the figs off of the tree. However, as the season progresses in California, the dried figs will drop to the ground on their own.
Dried Fig Harvesting
The actual process of getting the California dried figs removed from the field consists of:
- Sweeping – As figs drop to the ground, a sweeper goes through the field and sweeps all of the dried figs into rows in the middle of the orchard rows.
- Collecting – A few days after sweeping the rows, a harvesting machine drives through and picks up all of the piles. The machine is able to sort out most of the debris from the pile it picks up from the ground, which blows out the side of the machine, while the dried figs fill up the wooden bins that are located on the back of the machine.
Although the sweeper separates out the debris, there is still some that is left over. As a result, the dried figs are taken to a facility to further separate out the debris. After the fruit goes through the sorting process, there are bins for the:
- Good fruit that is to be sent to a dried fig packing and processing operation
- Culled fruit that will be sent to an animal lot
- Field debris that is removed
Here is an overview of the dried fig harvesting process in its entirety:
After the figs have been harvested and sorted, they arrive at the dried fig harvesting and packing facility, where they go straight into storage.
Dried Fig Storage
Dried figs are stored depending on whether or not they are being labelled as organic.
- Organic – If the dried figs are organic, they are all put into cold storage.
- Conventional – If the dried figs are conventional, some are stored in cold storage and some of the bins are stacked, covered with a tarp and stored outside.
Dried Fig Operational Steps
- Arrive – The dried figs arrive in bins. When the figs are delivered, they are sampled by a 3rd party inspector that tests the incoming figs to ensure they meet the California Dried Fig Marketing Order standards.
- Sort – Each incoming lot of dried figs has many different sizes, all of which have different uses and values. They are sorted and separated by size, so that the correct size can easily be selected when an order arrives. The smallest figs are normally used for products like fig paste and fig juice concentrate. While, the larger figs are usually sold in retail packages at grocery stores.
- Storage – The dried figs are either stored in the stacks or in cold storage. During storage, you want the figs as dry as possible to prevent any mold growth. The dried figs gathered later in the season take longer to dry because the relative humidity goes up in the Fresno, California area later in the year, as the temperature decreases.
- Pressure Cook – The dried figs are pressure cooked to keep them moist for hand packing. This makes them pliable so that it is easier for the dried figs to be molded to fit the packaging.
- Conveyor – The dried figs are transported on a conveyor belt that contains magnets and metal detectors. They are washed, hand sorted, and washed again with a sanitized wash water. They then go through a final sorting step prior to being placed into smaller totes that are either taken to the packing line (to be packed as dried figs) or to the processing line (to be made into fig paste).
During the conveyor step, the figs are rehydrated. For dried figs that are labelled as “natural” or “organic,” they aim for a 22% moisture content. While, the desired moisture content for conventional dried figs is 30%. Conventional dried figs have a higher moisture content since they receive a potassium sorbate application, which acts as a preservative to prevent yeast and mold. The light colored figs also receive a sulfur dioxide application, which helps retain their color.
Dried Fig Packing
The dried figs are sent down the packing line in containers. The workers then place them into the circular container that you are used to seeing in the grocery store. Once they are packed, they are shrink-wrapped and boxed.
Dried Fig Processing
During processing, dried figs pass through a machine (also containing a metal detector) that grinds them into paste. The percentage of which figs are used in the paste is determined by the customer and their order. For example, if the paste is going to make a fig bar, there is a specific percentage of the dark figs that need to be used to make the paste versus the light colored figs.
Final Dried Fig Product Testing
The Dried Fruit Association (DFA) of California is responsible for performing outbound quality inspections for the final product to ensure that it meets the USDA Standards for Grades of Dried Figs and the California Dried Fig Marketing Order. The dried fig industry in California voluntarily imposes more rigorous standards on California figs than the government requires, in order to ensure that the industry consistently produces high quality figs. This specific operation also has its internal quality department test each lot that they run to ensure that the dried figs meet their own quality and microbiological standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the darker dried fig cultivars?
When you see darker colored dried figs packaged for sale, they are the Black Mission cultivar. These are the types of figs shown being harvested and packed in the example above.
What are the lighter dried fig cultivars?
All of the green fresh figs dry to be the same light brown color. Unless the packaging specifies the cultivar, it can be a mix of the different cultivars, which include Calimyrna, Conadria, Kadota, Sierra and Tena.
Where are United States grown dried figs grown?
The main growing region in the United States is in the Central Valley of California, around the town of Madera, California.
How to eat dried figs?
The easiest way is to eat them plain. Figs have a lot of natural sugars, so just eating them plain is pretty tasty. However, if you are in the mood to prepare something great with dried figs, I encourage you to try this delicious old-fashioned fig newton recipe.
Featured Grower Information
I would like to thank Specialty Crop Company (grower) and San Joaquin Figs (Nutra Fig) (packer) for the tour and for allowing me to share the gathered content. Specialty Crop Company grows and markets both fresh and dried figs, as well as pistachios, kiwifruit, persimmons, pomegranates, nuts and citrus in California’s Central Valley. Meanwhile, Nutra Fig is a fully fig-focused company and packs, processes and markets California grown figs, panforte and fig nut bars. You can check out their online store, as well as see some of their (affiliate link) offerings below.
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