ENTER A PRODUCT: Submission #49
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Submission Number: 49
Submission ID: 55
Submission UUID: 81975a3c-0a65-4959-be9c-fdbf5ec1db22
Submission URI: /slowfood/form/segnala-un-prodotto-bk1
Created: Thu, 05/04/2023 - 08:58
Completed: Thu, 05/04/2023 - 09:04
Changed: Thu, 07/20/2023 - 10:02
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Submitted by: admin-form
Language: English
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Current page: Complete
Webform: ENTER A PRODUCT
General Info
Hammari fig
Ficus carica L.
| Category |
|---|
| Frutta fresca, secca e derivati |
Geographic area: Governatorato di Balqa, Giordania
Latitude: 32.0366806
Longitude: 35.728848
Location: 32.036681,35.728848
Formatted Address: Governatorato di Balqa, Giordania
State/Province: Governatorato di Balqa
Country: Giordania
Country Code: JO
Latitude: 32.0366806
Longitude: 35.728848
Location: 32.036681,35.728848
Formatted Address: Governatorato di Balqa, Giordania
State/Province: Governatorato di Balqa
Country: Giordania
Country Code: JO
Product description
The fig is a plant native to Anatolia, Syria and the Mediterranean regions, including Jordan. There are two subspecies of figs, F. carica L. sativa (common fig) and F. carica L. caprificus (caprific fig or wild type).
Today, there are many varieties of figs in the Middle East, which are given descriptive names based on their shape, colour or flavour.
In Jordan, it is possible to find both locally adapted and wild varieties of figs, characterised by a high degree of variation in fruit colour, size, shape and flavour. The best known local Jordanian names are Zraqi ‘Blue’, Kortomanee, ‘Ajlouni Esaali ‘from Ajloun, Honey’ Mwazee, Swadi ‘Black’ Khdairi ‘Green”Byadi ‘White’ Kalabi, Hamadi ‘Sour’, Hammari ‘Red’.
Ficus carica is a large deciduous ginodioecious tree or shrub, up to 7-10 metres tall, with smooth white bark. Its fragrant deciduous leaves are 12-25 cm long and 10-18 cm wide, rough and lobed (three to five lobes). The stems and leaves ooze a white milk when broken.
The most cultivated native varieties in the Al-Balqa region are Khdari, Byadi, Mwazee, Hammari.
The fruit of the Hammari fig has a globular shape and is 3.90 cm wide, 3.9 cm long and weighs 23 g. The skin is thin and amber brown; the flesh is red and has a sweet taste. The fruit ripens early in early June and can be used to make jam, but is not suitable for storage and export.
Today, there are many varieties of figs in the Middle East, which are given descriptive names based on their shape, colour or flavour.
In Jordan, it is possible to find both locally adapted and wild varieties of figs, characterised by a high degree of variation in fruit colour, size, shape and flavour. The best known local Jordanian names are Zraqi ‘Blue’, Kortomanee, ‘Ajlouni Esaali ‘from Ajloun, Honey’ Mwazee, Swadi ‘Black’ Khdairi ‘Green”Byadi ‘White’ Kalabi, Hamadi ‘Sour’, Hammari ‘Red’.
Ficus carica is a large deciduous ginodioecious tree or shrub, up to 7-10 metres tall, with smooth white bark. Its fragrant deciduous leaves are 12-25 cm long and 10-18 cm wide, rough and lobed (three to five lobes). The stems and leaves ooze a white milk when broken.
The most cultivated native varieties in the Al-Balqa region are Khdari, Byadi, Mwazee, Hammari.
The fruit of the Hammari fig has a globular shape and is 3.90 cm wide, 3.9 cm long and weighs 23 g. The skin is thin and amber brown; the flesh is red and has a sweet taste. The fruit ripens early in early June and can be used to make jam, but is not suitable for storage and export.
In the Mediterranean region, the fig is widely used, both fresh and dried. The fresh fruit contains calories from natural sugar and is considered a low-calorie snack or a healthy addition to a meal. Dried figs, on the other hand, are higher in sugar and calories. These fruits have many beneficial cardiac and digestive properties.
In Jordan, fig fruits are preferably eaten fresh, however excess fruit is processed into jam or Maqu’d al teen, served for breakfast, and dried to produce dried figs, the Qutain, used as a snack. Local shepherds, while grazing their sheep, are also used to make a typical cheese made by adding the white, creamy substance found inside the unripe fruit – which comes out when the fruit is detached from the stalk – to the fresh milk. A kind of cream cheese is obtained from the milk curd, which the shepherds eat with bread.
In Jordan, fig fruits are preferably eaten fresh, however excess fruit is processed into jam or Maqu’d al teen, served for breakfast, and dried to produce dried figs, the Qutain, used as a snack. Local shepherds, while grazing their sheep, are also used to make a typical cheese made by adding the white, creamy substance found inside the unripe fruit – which comes out when the fruit is detached from the stalk – to the fresh milk. A kind of cream cheese is obtained from the milk curd, which the shepherds eat with bread.
Research on agriculture in the Levant during the Umayyad period (AD 661-750) indicates that figs, along with olives and grapes, were the most important fruit trees. Research also indicates that dried figs, known as Quttain, were an important product in households and traded in markets. Another research on agriculture in Jordan and Palestine between 1864 and 1918 mentioned that fig cultivation was widespread in Al-Balqa. Today, fig cultivation in Jordan is concentrated in the south, particularly in the provinces of Karak, Tafila and Ma’an, in the central region, especially in Madaba, WadiAl-Sir and Baqa, and in the north, where most fig farms are located in Jerash and Irbid.
According to the annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture for 2018, Jordan produces 4480.9 tons of figs grown on 9291 dunums, as for the Balqa intervention area the fig trees producing fruits are grown on 646 dunums of which 144 dunums are irrigated and 448 dunums are sprinkler irrigated, the total production in the Balqa region is 366 tons making it the fifth producing region in Jordan. There is no official data on the quantities produced from processed products.
According to the annual report of the Ministry of Agriculture for 2018, Jordan produces 4480.9 tons of figs grown on 9291 dunums, as for the Balqa intervention area the fig trees producing fruits are grown on 646 dunums of which 144 dunums are irrigated and 448 dunums are sprinkler irrigated, the total production in the Balqa region is 366 tons making it the fifth producing region in Jordan. There is no official data on the quantities produced from processed products.
Anatolia and Syria are considered the fig’s natural habitat and the place from where the plant spread throughout the Mediterranean area. The fig was one of the first fruit trees to be cultivated and evidence suggests that it was domesticated in the Near East around 6500 years ago. A number of fig-related artefacts have been found dating back to Ancient Egypt (5000 BC) and traces of its cultivation in Palmyra (Syria) and Iraq. Archaeologists have also discovered remains of fig trees under cultivation in the Jordan Valley dating back to 4000 BC and the remains of nine charred fig fruits and hundreds of drupes preserved in an early Neolithic village in the lower Jordan Valley. This means that fig trees may have been the first domesticated plant of the Neolithic revolution, predating the domestication of wheat, barley and legumes by about a thousand years.
Figs were also widespread in ancient Greece, as evidenced by the writings of Aristotle and Theophrastus, and in the Roman Empire. Cato the Elder, in his De Agri Cultura from around 160 BC, lists several varieties of figs cultivated at the time. Fig trees were present from Afghanistan to Portugal and in the hills of India. From the 15th century onwards, it was cultivated in areas including Northern Europe and the New World.
Figs were also widespread in ancient Greece, as evidenced by the writings of Aristotle and Theophrastus, and in the Roman Empire. Cato the Elder, in his De Agri Cultura from around 160 BC, lists several varieties of figs cultivated at the time. Fig trees were present from Afghanistan to Portugal and in the hills of India. From the 15th century onwards, it was cultivated in areas including Northern Europe and the New World.
Many inhabitants of the Al-Balqa region have fig trees on their land, which they use for their own consumption and to make fig products, such as jam and dried figs, which they sell to the public from their homes or to small craft shops. Fresh seasonal figs are sold by farmers at the roadside or in the central market of Al-Salt.
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