Panachée Figs Earn Their Stripes

MADERA, Calif.— In gorgeously striped Panachee figs, which are being harvested commercially for the first time this month, the beauty is more than skin deep. Ripe specimens have super-sweet, jam-like pulp, with a counterbalancing acidity uncommon in other varieties and an intense berry flavor.

The spotlight on Panachée has been a long time coming. The variety was first described by that name, which means "variegated," in France in 1826, but similar types were noted as far back as the 17th century. Very likely it's a striped mutation of Col de Senora Blanca, a green-skinned Spanish variety that was described by Robert Hogg, a great Victorian fruit connoisseur, as "one of the finest figs in cultivation."

California fig farmers experimented with Panachée a century ago but decided it wasn't worth growing because it is not very productive and doesn't dry well. At the time, fresh figs were too perishable to be shipped long distances, so dried figs were the main crop. Five varieties, Calimyrna, Black Mission, Adriatic, Kadota and Brown Turkey, came to dominate fig cultivation.

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