How To Dry Figs: Double Your Fig Harvest By Dehydrating Figs

In today's video, you'll learn how to dry figs at home using a food dehydrator for food storage. You can double your fig harvest by dehydrating figs, because food dehydrators concentrate the sweetness. This allows you to pick figs early in advance of bad weather.
Where I live, it's normal for rain to ruin my figs before they're perfectly ripe. This is where you can use a food dehydrator to your advantage! Rather than harvest bland, underripe figs to save them from rain, you can place those underripe figs in a food dehydrator. The drying process concentrates the sugars, so figs that normally won't taste good fresh taste AMAZING dried!
After you dehydrate figs, they can be stored for eating later. By storing figs, you can have an endless supply all winter long, maximizing your harvest!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Why Drying Figs Will Increase Your Fig Harvest
1:58 Picking Figs For Preserving Figs With A Food Dehydrator
4:28 Prepping Figs For Processing
5:08 The Perfect Dried Fig For Food Storage
6:03 How To Dry Figs At Home With A Food Dehydrator
7:52 Fig Dehydrating After 47 Hours
8:44 My Dehydrated Figs VS Storebought Dried Figs
11:28 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to dehydrate figs, drying figs at home, want to learn more about fig trees and growing figs, want to know about the things I am growing in my garden, are looking for any gardening tips and tricks, or have questions about gardening and organic gardening in general, please ask in the Comments below!
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[@farmerbob4554]

Excellent tutorial. I didn’t realize I could dehydrate semi-ripe figs. I have dried Panache and Olympian figs but only excess ripe ones. I start the drying process in the oven, string and finish sun drying. They make a great snack as well as in cooking. A lamb tagine with dried figs and home-preserved lemon is a mind-altering experience! Thanks for the informative video.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

As long as the figs are ripe enough that they're beyond the stage where they ooze latex sap if you pick them, they are fine for dehydrating. If you've ever purchased figs in the grocery store, they're usually picked 2-3 days early so they don't bruise badly while shipping, but the downside is they taste really poor fresh. Dehydrating them at this stage really helps. I wish I could sun-dry, but it's so humid here that they would rot and the bugs would decimate them 😂

[@farmerbob4554]

@@TheMillennialGardener Good point. Humidity at 90-95F runs about 10% here. Touch a piece of metal any time and get zapped by static electricity! But it’s great for sun-drying. I string the oven dried figs, cover with bug netting and lay out in full sun. We also sun-dry tomatoes, herbs, peppers and mushrooms.

[@carybradley3968]

Congratulations! So much fun to watch you enjoy them!!! Mr and Mrs Runco used to dehydrate figs and press a walnut half into the flesh that made a WONDERFUL treat! I don't know exactly how they did it, the skin was not broken, but somehow they pressed the nut in gently, and the fig was kind of flattened, and then dried (I don't think they dehydrated it first, but might have). Delicious! They were wonderful next door neighbors and taught us all about fig growing and vegetable gardening in the late 60s. The Runcos subdivided part of their fig orchard in Southern California in the 50s and left a fig tree in each large lot they sold. Pretty neat. Love those two. Oh!!! and Dale is soooo darned cute!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

That sounds pretty good. I don't think I could store them using that method, but for eating over the next couple days, that could be really tasty. Thanks for watching!

[@carybradley3968]

@@TheMillennialGardener Loving your content! East to watch. :)

[@nickgeorgie1957]

Being born and raised encircled by fig trees all my life, I don't recommend to cutting the fig's heads. That is part of the eating process. The head helps keep the fig in one piece. Second, did you ever try to grill dry figs? Try it. A real delicacy used in Ancient Greece to go with some good red wine. Try it.

[@keithleder8971]

Amazing video! Thank you so much for the information. We live in western TX and we just started being more proactive with our fig harvest. I am going to try your method. You are awesome!

[@bestcrossroad]

Thank you! I’m in Zone 7 and my one & only Fig tree has been so generous this year! We’ve been eating lots daily but yesterday I got more. So, I’ll dehydrate those today. Thank you for detailed vid! I own an Excalibur dehydrator, you can dehydrate large or small stuff. It’s on the expensive side but very well worth every cent! Thanks again🌸.

[@jamesbarron1202]

I haven't had a drop of rain in over 2 months. It's rained a little around my area but not here. My Bermuda grass is brown and my pond is at least 6' low. Normal north Texas weather. I cut my figs in half and they dehydrate about twice as fast. I store them in freezer bags in the freezer after they're dried. They'll last a very long time when both dried and frozen. I like adding them to oatmeal with honey from my farm.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I wish I could send you 100% of my rain for the next 2 months. We're drowning over here, and there are 2 more tropical storms forming in the Atlantic that will surely give us even more in some amount. I don't have the freezer space for figs, so I need mine to be shelf-stable. Therefore, I need them fully dehydrated with the skin fully on to protect them. These were really good, but I bet yours will greatly exceed mine with your dry climate.

[@jamesbarron1202]

@@TheMillennialGardener I bet you could vacuum seal them after they’re dried and they’d last a very long time even without refrigeration.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

@@jamesbarron1202 this is exactly my plan in the future. I have a vacuum sealer, and I think it'll work well!

[@IMOO1896]

I’m so jealous of your fig harvest( happy for you)! I had a tree that was huge and rarely had fruit, I cut it back thinking that might encourage fruiting, had a few figs, but before they could ripen the birds got to them. You’ve dispelled my thinking that the tree is the key.

[@pamelabennett3081]

Great job. Thanks for being precise and informative. I did not know you could use semi ripe figs. Can't wait to try it out.

[@ketabill1]

Thanks for this video! California is now getting rain ---love it, but my figs don't! Took my dehydrator out and cut them in half. (I have a Nesco) They take about 12 hours when they are halved. My first batch I let go for about 18 hours and they were crackly dry. Don't think that's what I want so I'm glad I watched your video. Softer is better. Plus, the next experiment will be making Fig Pudding....

[@BadarTVTrends]

thank you for always presenting good videos to increase my insight and knowledge, hopefully I can be as successful as you

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you for watching! Best of luck.

[@gloriadiaz3697]

Thanks for explaining so good ❤

[@koolaid1445]

Man, I wish you had this video out like a month ago. Here in south Fl we have been getting killed with afternoon wash outs. I lost just about every fig I had. None withstood the humidity and bugs. Im trying to see what grows best down here. Definitely going to start dehydrating close to ripe figs during the rainy season.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

South Florida is very difficult for figs. Fig getting wet is what destroys them. We have very similar rain patterns, and I've been getting killed as well. We *finally* got a 4-day dry spell, so I'm getting some decent figs at the moment, but the rain train begins again on Sunday, with two potential tropical storms affecting us...but I'm guessing you know that all too well, too 😰 If you have one of those lanai's common in Florida, you could always grow figs in containers under it. Keeping them dry is very important.

[@marshakirby9978]

Thanks for sharing. You can do so much with figs. Jam, bars , cakes, fig butter.

[@suzanne7937]

A good presentation, as you got right to it. I did cut my figs in half because I "bake" them at a really low temperature, 113 F for a longer time so I do not lose any minerals. Thanks!

[@motemotola9821]

Figs look fantastic, can,t wait to try it !

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks for watching!

[@dahutful]

Great vid. I’m in South Carolina, and a friend has a huge fig - I can take cuttings. I was on the fence about it, but this swung me over. Gonna stop at Trader Joes later for a bag of figs! Thanks David SC

[@TheMillennialGardener]

That's awesome! If you like the fig variety they're growing, definitely take some if they don't mind. Thanks for watching!

[@carlschleg5918]

@@TheMillennialGardener Where in SC-im in Flor.

[@melodyclark4347]

Loved seeing this video. Thank you.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You're welcome!

[@lilymohsye]

I really appreciate your fig videos!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you! I really appreciate you watching.

[@pignmooseFD]

Thank you so much for this

[@TheMillennialGardener]

You're so welcome!

[@posyplanter]

We've dehydrated figs whole and cut in half and decided it was a better idea to dry them whole, until you think they're slightly too dry. They moisten up more in storage, and get even sweeter! Otherwise they tend to mold, if they're not dry enough. Ditto on the deep trays!

[@jeanneross4315]

How did the dried figs hold up for long term storing? My trees are about to give me boat loads and I am considering a dehydrating machine. Going to make jam, but would like to dry some also.

[@xrsjohnm]

Sorry to hear about your wet summer and poor fig weather Here in inland Los Angeles I have to fight the ants and critters to get that perfect fig sometimes IVe found if I try to Tree ripen my perfect fig the critter gets it the day or night before perfection on my brown Turkey's And I've been picking them premature which is a no go for figs they are pretty good if ripened to perfection although they re twice the size of my kadota and not quite as sweet

[@nolaragz2558]

Where did you get the protective mesh bags to keep pest from your fruit? I would need about a million of those. My tree was blessed this year. I ate so many I smelled like figs.

[@daintrymanning3774]

How do you store them after drying and how long do they last

[@homesteaderfiftywmartha603]

Here I am - making a fig slur, then dehydrate into a fruit leather, I could have just tossed them in🤪

[@Danielseven-ir2mq]

Yes, proactive is the word. To share what works here in Denver. I sun dry tomatoes on the roof. When I get a large bounty🍅, I use the dehydrator half way than finnish the drying on the roof. Taste much better with the 🌞. Humid area won't work.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

That's great if your climate allows. Like you said, it's impossible where I live. Our dew points right now average about 75 degrees, and our current nighttime lows are about 76! They'd rot in a few hours and be devoured by pests, but if you can do it, do it.

[@gmaellen5530]

Do you have a successful outdoor fig tree in Colorado? I sent my brother some fig tree clippings and he’s got a couple growing indoors but is afraid to put them outside in the ground with Colorado winters. Any thoughts on that?

[@Danielseven-ir2mq]

@@gmaellen5530 yes, I do have a number of figs in ground. They grow very well here. The trick is to cut them down to two feet above ground. Cover them with mulch ( wood chips ) two feet. In the spring uncover the Figs. They wake up nicely and can grow 6 ft plus in one season. Low branches can be covered as well. My two cents.

[@goo757]

smart man

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks for watching!

[@unotpn4925]

suitable species for driet fig?

[@lelat.3386]

Great video again👏👏 Do you think it would work in the oven on 150f, that’s the lowest temp it can go?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. Yes, it will work in the oven. There are many people that make jerky in the oven at those settings. The only downside is the time and expense of heating your oven. Can you have the oven functioning as a dehydrator for 48 hours straight, uninterrupted? If you can, it'll work. If that's too much of an inconvenience, it's best to just spend $40-50 on a dehydrator. They're pretty inexpensive.

[@hummingbirdsuites2026]

That was a great video thanks. I have enough figs on my tree this year that I might get enough to try dehydrating. I looked in your Amazon store for a dehydrator but did not see one. Do you recommend the one you used. By the way the dried figs from Trader Joe’s is one of the ones I used to grow seedlings from. I was surprised that seeds from dried figs from turkey would germinate. The breba figs from my seed grown tree was good the main crop has not done anything yet I think they may need to de pollinated to ripen. Thanks again Kevin

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I do not have one in my store, but I appreciate you looking at my store. The dehydrator I have is great, but it doesn't work well for figs because the trays aren't tall enough. I have to put a 1 gallon jug of water on top, which squishes the figs some. I'd recommend a taller model. The TJ's figs germinated? That's surprising. However, the chances of them being crossed with a persistent caprifig is extremely unlikely. Chances are, any female seedlings would be smyrna's and unable to be ripened without the fig wasp. That's the problem with planting seeds from grocery store figs. Persistent caprifigs are very rare in nature, so unless you're controlling the cross, chances of success are low.

[@hummingbirdsuites2026]

@@inharmonywithearth9982 I planted dried Turkish figs from Trader Joe’s, fresh TJ mission, fresh TJ green figs a smaller sweeter fig called TJ black fig and fresh mission figs from BJ’s they all sprouted I kept the best 30 fast growing ones out of over a hundred seedlings. One of the 30 set fig-lets at 13 months of age the fig-lets overwintered in my basement and ripened the next July. The tree set main crop this year but I don’t think they will ripen. I think it is a San Pedro fig like a Desert King I will have to wait and see if the main crop ripens. I am pretty sure the one with the figs is from the fresh BJ’s mission fig. It tasted like a mission fig but sweeter probably because it ripened on the tree.

[@hummingbirdsuites2026]

@@inharmonywithearth9982 I am in zone 5B on an island on coastal Maine. Our season is short and cold. I keep most of my figs in a green house otherwise I would get very few figs. I did get a few figs to ripen outside of my greenhouse last year but most won’t ripen in my climate without a greenhouse. With a green house most of the figs get ripe. I have been trying different figs to see what ripens best in costal Maine so far Salce is my first main crop to ripen it’s a honey fig. My new fig that I grew from seed had very early breba the same as RBD I am for now calling it the “Hummingbird Fig”

[@7wernli]

Which varieties have a good seed crunch? Is it possible to get a good seed crunch without pollination (wasp etc)

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I think the "seed crunch" effect is primarily the result of figs grown in climates with dry summers and wasp pollination. Wasp pollination creates a lot more endocarps and fills them with seed, and the dry summer climates lead to a less juicy fig, so the figs are "crunchier." In my climate, there is no wasp and my summers are very wet, so my figs are usually plump and juicy. I've never grown a fig that has a "seed crunch," probably due to my conditions. Now, the dried Turkish figs I buy at Trader Joe's...those babies have a SEED CRUNCH! Even when I dehydrate my own figs, they don't have a seed crunch to them, so I think pollination is pretty important. You'd have to ask someone in Arizona or West Texas to see if they get a seed crunch without the wasp.

[@kikkpod5887]

Man I love cats

[@CapitanFantasma1776]

I have a Harvest Rite Freeze Drier, should I use it on the figs? Thanks!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I’ve never tried freeze-dried figs. You can give it a shot, but I’m not sure what they’d taste like after being rehydrated with water. I think dehydration would taste a lot better.

[@pd6569]

Thank you.."getting ready to dehydrate them but we have a quick question. Why do you cut off the top stem? Is it for convenience or something else? Thank you as always.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

The stems aren't edible. Once dehydrated, they may be tough to remove. You can try drying them with the stems on and without and see what you prefer better.

[@pd6569]

@@TheMillennialGardener Thank you very much. We tried the first batch with the stems but my wife just cut the stems off the next batch that’s going in this morning. That makes complete sense, I just wanted to understand your rationale. Up here in Northern Virginia, we are blessed with a good year of figs this year.

[@salam2salam1]

Figs omelette, 1st dice the figs then you sauté with Butter then you break eggs over it, and it’s ready to eat

[@ShaggyDogg0128]

Ditch the trader Joe's. Get sunny land organic figs. The are literally the best dried figs. But nice video!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I've never seen or heard of that brand. Dried figs are usually really expensive. I go to TJ's every week, and for $2.99/bag, you cannot beat them. That's literally half of most dried figs, and they are outstanding.

[@ShaggyDogg0128]

@@TheMillennialGardener they are at Ross, marshalls, and HomeGoods. They sell them for $3.99 a bag. I buy four bags at a time. It's nice because they are snack bags inside the big bag. The picture shows a green fig with red interior

[@wen-hsinmoh1487]

Hey there, not sure if you do this? By the way love you channel, you are my go to guy for everything related to fig!!! Do you sell your fit cuttings? I want to get some from you!!!

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy the channel! I offer cuttings every winter when my trees go dormant. I make a formal announcement once the time comes. My cutting season is January.

[@BlackJesus8463]

I wonder if borderline ripe figs would work as jam or jelly and be as good.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

If you can make fig jam from grocery store figs, then the answer is "yes," because most grocery store figs are very underripe. It may require increasing/modifying sugar based on the ripeness of the figs, though.

[@homesteaderfiftywmartha603]

Fruit leather

[@petershu1049]

👍

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks for watching!

[@GvIn2it]

How can I dehydrate figs and have them turn out with soft skins like mission figs?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

It's tough to know exactly. You may be comparing them to dried figs. Imported figs are often strung up and dried in the sun, so they come out differently than if you put them in a food dehydrator. I can't dry figs, because it rains too much in the Southeast where I live. Mediterranean climates are basically rainless in summer, so they can hang them indefinitely to dry. If you lived in California in summer, it would be doable since they have the same climactic patterns as Turkey, Greece and Italy where most of the figs are grown and dried.

[@billstout1265]

How do figs do as freeze dried?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I've never tried, so I can't tell you. I don't own a freeze-drier.

[@royerfigs]

Im having a hard time understanding , may be my internet but seems your audio is very low.

[@sasquatchdonut2674]

I’ve gotten the dried Turkish Smyrna figs at other places but for some reason, Costco’s is better. Some of them are like biting into sweetened butter.

[@cmt6136]

Plant stella

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I've never had Stella. I personally prefer dark berry figs and Adriatic types.

[@amysnipes4245]

Go with an Excalibur dehydrator

[@bluereef2611]

Yes, they absolutely love livers.

[@TheMillennialGardener]

That makes one of us 😂

[@jerseyveg1]

When you have that much invested in your garden wouldn't it make sense to build a cheap but strong "A" frame trellis system and use a heavy mil clear plastic that can be easily rolled up to the ridge when not needed?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

There's no way to do it. I can't build structures in my yard due to HOA regulations, and anything that could survive here with the regular hurricane activity would require a lot of space, cost and strength. My figs are all planted along the fence line, so there's really no way to protect them, anyway. The container figs are temporary, and many of them will be culled over the years.

[@Robertoalvarez-jk9js]

Do you sell fig cuttings

[@TheMillennialGardener]

I offer cuttings in the dormant season - usually January. I always announce formally to my subscribers when they become available.

[@ranoli2000]

@@TheMillennialGardener Look forward to January 2022 for cuttings

[@jemoedrjwz5289]

Are these insect bags on Amazon?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

They are linked in my Amazon Storefront in the video description.

[@CaroleMcDonnell]

uhm.. i wonder if i could use my air dryer. ::thinking, thinking::

[@TheWhiteDragon3]

Speaking of Turkish figs, I hear that the Turks, to deal with a growing season that's not quite as long as they'd like, will take the remaining green figs at the end of the season and candy them. Have you ever tried that?

[@TheMillennialGardener]

No, I have not. I didn't know green figs are edible. They're filled with latex sap, so there would have to be a way to remove the astringency. If you were to bite into a fully unripened fig, it would be awful, like gargling gasoline. It's an extreme astringent content, like an unripe persimmon.

[@TheWhiteDragon3]

@@TheMillennialGardener I hear that part of the candying process is boiling the green figs for 3 1-hour cycles to flush out the astringent sap. Only after do they start to boil them in syrup.

[@GumriRN]

Good info but what’s CAPRIFICATION? Some of us aren’t that educated. Really like your Dog 🐕

[@TheMillennialGardener]

Thanks. Dale is great. Caprification is the artificial pollination of female figs by strategic placement of wasp-colonized caprifigs or manual hand pollination. Fig pollination is very complicated science, which is why I'm putting together an in-depth series on fig breeding here: kzbin.info/aero/PL1gY7BoYBGIHWDFykCI-TRAt-Gm45Wwyw

[@sneadh1]

It sounds like it means turning figs into goats.

[@freeasabird5187]

Weather manipulation. Watch The Dimming 😔

[@robertenglish8847]

How do you store them and how long do they last

[@sneadh1]

Should dried figs be kept sealed in the refrigerater to last longer?

[@thebangbrothersband3859]

47 hours?? Jesus, I think the $6 per week is probably cheaper than the power bill