How to sun-dry figs with salt water

#figseason, #portugal, #offgrid, #preservingfood
In this video Luke sun-dries figs with an added trick that results in a much softer and juicier preserved fig.
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[@CindyVine]

Excellent! Will try this once my fig trees start producing!

[@mark_mthws]

Nice tip on the water bath! We did the same when drying our tomatoes. Day 1 was good and by day 2 the ants had arrived 😂

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Hi Mark.. yeah that tip really does work. Thankfully the ants we have here aren't as smart as some ants I've seen on some nature docs were they all join up and turn themselves into a raft to cross waters.🤣🤣🤣

[@vincenzo00]

What about add a tonne of salt to the anti-ant water !? or chilli powder !? 🤣🤣

[@bearfootholistics]

Here in Cyprus we blanch them in salt and lemon juice before drying them. I will try this way next, thank you.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thank you! I will try your method on the next batch!😄😄

[@tamardevane6635]

Hi Luke, I watched this video last year, when drying figs. I tried it with some and they were definitely softer and more delicious. I am going to do this with all my figs this year. I have been a subscriber to your Chanel, for about a year now. I love watching the animals especially. Also, we purchased both the power secateurs (a hand saver) and little chainsaw. Two very useful additions to our little Quinta. This year, I have lots of eggplants. they dry very easily. When in a hurry, I simply 1\2 peel and quarter them, up to the green bit, then hang them on the line. Drying very quickly in this wind!!!!!!! Thanks for your hard work.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Hi Tamar.. good to hear regarding figs 😀😀 Those secateurs are awesome aye! My favourite way to preserve aubergines...kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWjZeWyMlLN_eNk

[@nassifmarzouki769]

I was wondering how they do them now I know, thanks for the information and good luck for both of you.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Our pleasure!

[@adbc8737]

Dried fruit and veggies will deep you healthy and happy in those in between times….. stay happy and healthy all y’all! Thank you for the the videos and your hard work! 🌀❤️🌀

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thank you for watching Ad Bc!

[@jimpierce2899]

Really good method. Will have remember this

[@Flippin_Crazy]

Thank you Luke!

[@Flippin_Crazy]

Brilliant on the ant situation!

[@grandmasstories3418]

Very useful! Thank you

[@cleaningtime8156]

Very good tips thanks, i enjoy the Video 👍

[@mirriulahmirriulah1319]

Looks good mate, certainly going to give it a go.

[@FontedaPipaPortugueseFarmLife]

Going to have to try this method, I love figs, thanks guys! 🙂👍

[@wegetoutdoors2521]

Love figs - what a great idea of preserving them

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

They are!

[@mgp1953]

I love figs. My few visits back to Portugal have always been planned around fig season.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Smart planning😁😁

[@christinetomlinson4132]

Hey I have never eaten figs ( apart from fig rolls ) but you make these seem to good to resist so maybe I could be tempted 😋😀

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Well if you like figrolls you will surely like these sun-dried figs. I'll get some with us when we meet up.😁

[@frankkrischick3906]

thank you for this

[@portugalonawingandaprayer473]

Ahh I’ll try the anti-ant tip now …I watched this video earlier and since I had some figs dried already … I blanched them and they are back out drying as I speak … taste test tomorrow ! … thank you Luke …🙏☘️😘

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Let us know if you prefer them this way

[@Justice4All6-14]

Thank you for good info…🌺❤️🌺

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

You are so welcome

[@kikkpod5887]

Thank you very much! Perfect for my Portland Oregon figs!

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

happy to hear that 😁😁

[@Michael-tn9ov]

Where I live the blanching is the first part of the process to make "fig bread", pa de figa in català, pan de higo in Spanish, you could look up a few recipes and try it, it's veeery nice. Salut!

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Will check it out thanks!

[@melinda5777]

I'll have to get some off my Mom's tree and try this. Obrigada!

[@HassanHassan-iv7lk]

I also love figs Luke, I heard in Morocco saying eating figs increases the size of testicles. But not sure about that.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

I love figs you might be right 🤣🤣🤣

[@HassanHassan-iv7lk]

@@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife Glad it works for you Luke 😂😂😂

[@thewheallons]

Handy tips galore in this vlog. Those figs look lush. I was waiting for you to get some blue cheese out to have with them :-D

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thanks Emma 😁They are delicious by themselves just as a snack not need for that delicious blue

[@fionagrows1848]

Very interesting! We had a house in southern Italy until very recently and our Albanian neighbour put an almond and some lemon zest inside each fig and dried them. They were really delicious and seemed to keep just fine. Very good exercise for the jaws though....extremely chewy!

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

They sound delicious!

[@Tammy10018]

Awesome thank yoi for the video. For the ants, you can also apply a strip of Vaseline around the legs and they won't come up

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thanks for the tip we used to use Vaseline for the ropes of our hammock used to keep the ants away

[@barbararoman2945]

Our figs were earlier this year in NYC with the intense heat. Made fig jam but would love to try this. I am heading to Croatia in September. Will be looking for figs for sure!

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Nice, happy travelling you will get to try them in person...yum

[@toeknee5464]

really good info im going next month to look for a place !! so scared tho

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Good luck toe!! Dont be scared..grab the bull by the horns!!

[@ecowarrior1888]

So interesting, heard you have got to go easy on them, as they have laxative effect 🙊🤣🤣🤣

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

🤣 yes we are going easy on them

[@peterbleach5417]

Wow that is super useful Luke thanks for reminding me what to shop for in Fundao tomorrow. You are so full of brilliant information. Hope you Sara and Molly can pop over for a meal soon, we will have the complete kitchen next week!

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Looking forward to it pete!! .. not as much as you guys must be looking forward to finally getting a kitchen! 🤣🤣🤣

[@victorgoncalves2442]

Hello guys , nice video.I love figs , and we have quite a few fig trees down south , but also in the back garden in my dads house near Setubal . We have 1 species called 'Moscatel' wich is green on the outside and yellow on the inside , my favourite . In Algarve we make something called 'Queijo de figo' fig cheese (not real cheese , just the shape ) , have a look online .

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thanks for sharing Victor!! We will look it up😁

[@kath-phlox]

Eureka!!! 😋👍

[@tamardevane6635]

Thanks Luke. I’ve tried the salt water thing, as I’m drying lots of figs here in the Algarve. Looking forward to tasting them tomorrow. Apparently the salt water method is used in Cypress.

[@tamardevane6635]

Sorry, not Cypress, Croatia.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Awesome I am sure they will be Delicious

[@annipetratos9401]

What a lovely video. Thankyou I now live in Greece and my friend asked if I had ever dried figs....and I thought , why haven't I????? I think they may be a bit too ripe but I'm hoping to at least find one or two as a first try. Thanks again

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

So nice of you Anni, So happy you enjoyed it and I wish you the best of luck with your figs x x

[@ChrisMcCandless77777]

I am jealous al this figs 😜😘

[@m000Theevilcow]

In Portugal, the figs are dry differently... Pick them fresh, wash them, dry in the sun for two days (remember to recover them at night to prevent humidity and also between the days outside you need to reverse for a completely dry process), then boil them before drying them for five more days, after that, you can either add powdered sugar to help preserve the figs and store it or place the dry figs on a hoven at 170ºC for 5 minutes to kill any bacteria or infection, take them out, let them cool and sprinkle them with unleavened wheat flour (so they don't stick together) and are stored in cloth bags (linen or cotton are the healthiest). They can also be stored in closed cans, in a cool place. But in truth, every region or country has its own process...

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

We will have to give this a try next time Thanks Mr Potato head😀

[@FrankieOffGrid]

These look amazing guys! I wonder if the salt blanching would work with tomatoes too, will have to try it out ☺️

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thanks! Dont think there is any need to with tomatoes.. we just sun dry them after a sprinkling of salt. Put the semi dried in oil and herbs etc to be eaten first and the rest we sun-dry completely amd rehydrate when needed. Love them. Still have plenty from last year thankfully because this year i dont think we will do as well. 🍅🍅🍅

[@user-ds2ej3wn8p]

Salt does preserve figs for longer, but boiling water will remove a lot of the antioxidants present in the figs

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thank you x

[@donaldroyer4618]

Thank you. Thank you. Do you know how long can you preserve these salted figs for?

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

No idea , they don't last long enough to find out😁

[@Dovid2000]

Excellent introductory into drying figs. My question would be whether or not this blanching method of bringing to a boil in sea water the figs that have partially dried out after 9 to 10 days is a universal practice, say, practised also in Israel (Palestine) and in Turkey, besides in Croatia?

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

I had never heard of this method anywhere else..I know in Portugal Spain and Malta they don't for sure

[@michaelhopkins4296]

Have you thought about putting the water after fig blancing into glass bottles or jars and drinking it?

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

No I havent but next time we make them I'll be putting some in the fridge and tasting it that's for sure! 🤣🤣🤣

[@michaelhopkins4296]

@@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife I have never had this drink, just thought that it would make a nice pick me up drink for Sarah and you in very hot weather.

[@violetviolet888]

Luke: What is the purpose of the salt please? What if you blanched in regular water?

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

I think it helps preserve for longer.

[@victorgoncalves2442]

Also , do you have 'Medronheira' ( strawberry trees) in your land ? You can produce a strong alcoholic dink 'Medronho' . I used to get a bottle of it and put dry fig inside , to make fig licour , very nice

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

That sounds delicious , no unfortunately we don't have any trees on the land but plan to plant some .When we first got to Portugal, one of the first places we were interested in buying was in the Alentejo region and had a room on the land where they used to make Medronho😁

[@charlenequinilty7252]

Thanks . Was looking for information on drying figs. Hope it works with a dehydrator. It’s so humid here I don’t think sun dried would work. Let me know if you think it would work.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

If it's super humid I would use the dehydrator on its lowest setting

[@cyeamaculture8486]

So you're drying them before blanching them? I wonder if there's an optimum amount of drying out before blanching..?

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

I wondered if I could play with that too.. the Croatian lady who had told me about this method had said to dry them out completely first but worth a shot trying varying degrees of dehydration.

[@IMOO1896]

Interesting that they’re dried first then blanched in salt water. Do you think we could get similar results in a dehydrator with salt water. I live in a very humid climate.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

I don't see why not😁

[@bonnieblack925]

So.. Not boiling for more than a few seconds? I've got a tree full. Looking for a dehydrator now. Thank you

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Yes for a few seconds ..Yum I am sure you will enjoy them😁

[@flowersflowers473]

Blanching them will remove a lot of water-soluble vitamins from the fig...but since you eat quite a bit fresh from the tree, you probably don't need to worry about the vitamin loss too much.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

😁 probably not but thanks for the info

[@annie1626]

I wonder if you could try the same method used here in Japan to dry persimmons in autumn/winter. This is traditionally mild, dry and sunny weather, and a round persimmon takes about three weeks to dry hanging up (avoids the insect problem?). It's very simple, I'm guessing the slower process makes the finished dried fruit moister than full on Portuguese summer sun. From about halfway through, you 'massage' them every few days which is supposed to develop the sweetness, or maybe help them to dry evenly. I'm guessing though that it might work for figs too - probably 10 days would work, but in the shade, not direct sunlight. You can also part-dry them, then they come out gooier, but still much sweeter than the original fruit. This vid shows a simple version of how to do it:kzbin.info/www/bejne/jKDcY3qEnZh0j9U

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

That's very interesting Annie. Thanks for that. We normally get given persimmon so will definitely try that out in the future. Worth trying it with the figs too.

[@annie1626]

@@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife The first time I ate them, I was amazed at how the sweetness developed through drying.

[@sjvche7675]

Any idea of self life? Make it to Christmas?

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Yes.. we normally finish them within 9 or 10 months..have to make more

[@memydogandbike9335]

Hello Luke and Sarah from Amsterdam. Subscribed when you were on the "Good Morning Portugal" show with Carl and am watching all your older videos (i like to watch a channel from start to current). In one if your older videos (Thai Curry) you said that there are lots of things you cant get in Portugal (Thai curry paste?). I will be in central Portugal in September and maybe i can bring you something you cant get there. If that's something you like send me an email to [e-mail] and i can take a shopping list for you (couple of Asian supermarkets here in Amsterdam) cheers and keep up the good work. Matthias

[@HannekeVonditsianou-um4vy]

What if it rains

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Take them in before it rains

[@jimm8682]

Nothing to do with figs but, You might want to consider buying a small tractor, you would not believe how useful they are.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Thanks for the tip Jim. We will definitely be needing a tractor in the future but with the plans we have on how we want to transform our land our most important tool will be the 4 tonne digger we have, for the next five years anyway! It was a bummer that it broke down so soon after buying it but I've finally got my finger out and have started the ball rolling to get it fixed. Cant wait!

[@joebliksem2410]

Why are you so thin? Sarah is not feeding you.

[@lukeandsarahsoffgridlife]

Haha.. wow thanks for the compliment. I have lost a little weight since we ve been here cos we eat healthier and all the hard work but thin wouldnt be a word to describe me lol