We like to consume figs fresh, but the main production takes place by drying the fig, our consumption culture. First of all, figs are not collected from trees and dried; It dries on the tree itself. It begins to dry in August, and at the end of the same month it falls to the soil with the help of the wind. In some regions, villagers help the tree fall by gently irrigating or shaking it. After the figs poured into the soil are collected, they are lined up in the fates (cloths) laid on the soil. Figs, which dry even more under the sun for a few days, become ready for consumption.
If you go to the coastal part of the Aegean, instead of the cloths laid on the ground, you will see structures called “crayfish” that are at least half or one meter high and in the form of six sieves and can breathe. Again in the coastal Aegean, after the figs are dried, they are subjected to a dipping (in other words, dipping) technique. Dried figs placed in wicker baskets are dipped several times in boiling salted water in copper cauldrons and removed. Some fig producers throw a few branches of bay leaves or thyme into this water. The dipped figs are placed in the crayfish to dry again, and they are turned over every 2-3 days to dry thoroughly.
