While National Fig Week is the first week of November, figs begin their season as a late summer fruit. A good produce department should be full of them right now.

Have you ever tasted a fig at peak ripeness? Whether it’s enjoyed as a hand fruit, served with cheese for dessert, accenting a charcuterie board, a topper to a green salad, salad, churned into ice cream or sliced into breakfast cereal, fresh in season are as good as it gets.

The peak of fresh fig season is just a few short weeks, so grab them when you see them. If your supermarket doesn’t carry fresh figs (ours doesn’t), head to a specialty produce store.

Different varieties of figs mature at different times, so keep checking. California figs are among the best you can buy.

Note that figs have a delicate skin. It may scar or flake a bit in transit, but that’s just part of being picked at peak ripeness, when the fig is most flavorful but also the most fragile.

The recipe follows, but first, for your perusal:

> The different types of figs.

> The history of figs.

> There are 12 more delicious fig recipes below.

> Ways to use fresh figs.

> Ways to use dried figs.

> Ways to use fig spreads.
 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE COVERED FIGS WITH SEA SALT

This is an easy recipe. Kids who are old enough to handle hot melted chocolate can make it. Prep time is 20 minutes.

Just as with plain figs, you can serve these with cheese for dessert. Fresh figs pair well with a wide variety of cheeses, from sharp blue cheeses to creamy Brie and Camembert, to tangy goat cheese.
 
Ingredients

Use California figs for the tastiest results.

 
Preparation

1. LINE a baking sheet with parchment paper. Rinse the fresh figs under running water and pat dry with a clean cloth or paper towel.

2. SPRINKLE both the fresh and dried figs with fine sea salt to lightly coat the bottom portion of the fig.

3. PLACE the chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir. Continue to microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until the chocolate chips are completely melted.

4. WORKING one fig at a time, hold the fig by stem, dip in melted chocolate 2/3 or 1/2 way up the fig, depending on how much chocolate you want. Sprinkle the chocolate with flaked sea salt.

5. SET the figs on the baking sheet. Let sit until the chocolate hardens. You can also place the tray in the refrigerator to set the chocolate more quickly.
 
 
12 MORE FIG RECIPES

 
Plus The Recipe Above

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Dip figs in chocolate and add a sprinkle of sea salt. The recipe is below (photos #1 and #2 © California Figs).

[2] A close up. Use both brown and green figs for more visual appeal.

[3] Just picked: brown turkey figs. The brown turkey fig is similar to the more common black mission fig, but is often larger, squatter and more syrupy on the inside (photo © Heather Barns Wesual | Unsplash).

[4] An arugula and fig salad with a popcorn garnish. Here’s the recipe (photo © Le Coq Rico | NYC).

[5] An easy snack or hors d’oeuvre: fig and cheese bruschetta. Here’s the recipe (photo © California Figs).

[1] Refresh with a Strawberry Mint Mojito. The recipe is below (photo © Rocket Farms | Facebook).

[2] Choose fresh strawberries that are smaller in size. They’ll fit better into the glass (photos #2 and #3 © Good Eggs).

[3] If you have a choice, choose spearmint instead of peppermint. It works better in cocktails.

Here’s what we made for National Rum Day, August 16th (photo #1)—not just delicious, but good-looking, too. Minty, light and refreshing, it’s a great summer drink. The edible flowers are an especially summery touch. Thanks to Rocket Farms for the recipe.

You can turn the cocktail into a mocktail with club soda (especially lime flavor club soda) or Sprite.

If you don’t want to use edible flowers, substitute julienned mint leaves.
 
 
RECIPE: STRAWBERRY MINT MOJITO

If you don’t want to use the edible flowers, substitute a julienne of mint leaves and eliminate the mint leaf garnish.

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. WASH and slice the strawberries, wash and pat dry the mint leaves.

2. MUDDLE the mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker, reserving one or two for garnish.

3. COMBINE the lime juice, simple syrup and rum in a chilled shaker with ice, and shake to combine. Strain into a glass over fresh ice. Stir in the strawberries and flowers or julienned mint leaves.

4. GARNISH with a the lime wedge and additional mint leaf or two.
 
 
July 11th is National Mojito Day.
 
 
> STRAWBERRY ROSE MOJITO RECIPE
 
 
> 15 MORE MOJITO RECIPES
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF THE MOJITO
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF RUM

While June 11th is National Elote Day, the available corn on the cob in our neck of the woods (the Northeast) is more than a month away from its summer best. August is our peak corn month.

So we saved this post until now, along with a query:

Do you want to find delicious ways to serve elote and their fraternal twin, esquites?
 
 
ELOTE VS. ESQUITES

What’s elote, the uninitiated may ask?

Elote is (ay-LOW-tay, plural elotes) means tender corn cob.

The word derives from the Nahuatl elotitutl (Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, is still spoken today).

Elote is a popular street food in Mexico, typically grilled on a stick on the vendor’s cart.

It’s then brushed with melted butter or mayonnaise, rolled in cotija or queso fresco crumbles, and dusted with chile powder and salt (photo #1).

You also get a lime wedge to squeeze over the corn.

Some vendors (and home cooks) serve a more elaborate topping for the base, or as a drizzle on top of the other ingredients.

This more elaborate cream base is made from sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, pepper and cilantro. Yum!

Other toppings include Tajin tangy chile seasoning, chopped scallions and cilantro.
 
 
What About Esquites?

Esquites (es-KEE-tays) are the same corn kernels removed from the cob, seasoned the same way, and served in a dish with a spoon.

Ingredients like chorizo, which don’t work on a corn cob, can be added.

Also known as elote en vaso esquites are another way to enjoy the Mexican corn snack (antojito).

The word comes from the Nahuatl word ízquitl, which means toasted corn.

(Today, the kernels are just removed from the steamed or boiled cob.)

But take a modern look: Esquites can be used in any variety of ways beyond the street cart.
 
 
PARTY BAR

How to make corn on the cob even more popular?

You can serve either elote or esquites in a party bar format, allowing family and friends to add their toppings of choice.

We promise it will be a memorable event, as in, “Remember that great elote bar?”

Perhaps you’ll make it an annual event!
 
 
WAYS TO USE ESQUITES

Photo #1 is the classic elote and photos #3 and #4 are serving variations. You can take the same creative approach with esquites.

It can be as simple as a garnish on top of a piece of grilled meat or fish. Or, how about:

 
 
MORE ELOTE & ESQUITES RECIPES

 
Oh que delicioso!

[1] Classic elote can be served with or without the stick. When buying from a street cart, a stick is a neater option. And we find that a stick is a superior option to the corn cob holders that are popular in the U.S. (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog made elote easier to eat by cutting the cob into four pieces. You can put each piece on a stick, or eat them with your fingers (and a good napkin) (photo © Bittersweet Blog).

[3] At Manzanita in Silicon Valley, an elote innovation: Executive Chef Adam Ornellas cuts the cob into four strips, then frys them into dramatic curls. A charbroil finish lends a nice smokiness, and the dish is finished with a chorizo vinaigrette (photo #3 © Manzanita Restaurant).

[4] Esquites served as a side, in a ramekin. Here’s the recipe (photo © Goya).

[5] A simple dish of esquites (photo © Reynolds Kitchen).