When the sun casts the last rays of summer, the fig trees fill with fruit and load their branches with this appreciated product. The Malaga fig can be found in many varieties – dried, pajeros, fig bread – and has managed to carve out a tasty niche in Spanish gastronomy thanks to products entirely made in Malaga. The fig, as a fruit, appears on fig trees between the end of August and the beginning of September. This tree has the peculiarity that it is very resistant and adapts to all types of soil, although it is especially common throughout the Mediterranean area.

The Malaga fig, traditionally, has been the Verdejo variety, characterized by its dark color, reddish flesh and very thin skin. The Verdejo fig usually grows later than the others. The fig tree is a tree that produces more fruit than is consumed, which is why Spanish cookbooks have experimented with the fig to take advantage of the leftovers and generate new flavors. Furthermore, it is a fruit that goes bad if it is not consumed quickly. In Malaga, dried figs, pajero figs and Malaga fig bread are famous.

Other derivatives

The dried fig is a fruit that, as its name indicates, has been allowed to dry. Sometimes the process is done naturally by leaving the figs that have fallen to the ground from the branches in the sun, although it is also common for the fruits to be collected when they fall and exposed to the sun to let them dry. The province of Malaga has the ideal conditions for the production of this dried fruit, since for its production the fig must be exposed to the sun and high temperatures uninterruptedly. Pajero figs are traditional in Malaga and very similar to the dried fig. In this case the main difference is that the Malaga pajero fig has softer skin and a much sweeter flavor. They are also different in size: they are generally medium-sized or smaller than other dried figs. Malaga fig bread The Malaga farmers adopted the Arab tradition of making fig bread with the leftover production of the fig trees. This product is made up of a compact dough made exclusively of figs (it does not include flour, wheat or other ingredients used to make the bread) and is sometimes accompanied by other nuts or candied fruit. Although it can be found throughout the province, Coín fig bread is particularly well known.