Every now and then, something will fly in from left field and completely blow you away. Last night, for me, that was fig leaf tea. It started with a request from my cousin V for some of my fig leaves for one of her chefs. “No problem.” of course, was my reply. I started thinking then, about Clan of the Cave Bear, and how pretty much everything under the sun is edible in some form or fashion. A quick Google later and I found out that fresh or dried fig leaves can be steeped to make tea. Not only that, the tea is proven to be helpful in managing blood glucose levels and a myriad of other ailments. I immediately went out to pick a leaf to try it.
Start with a big, fully mature leaf, about the size of your outstretched hand. I grow my figs organically, with no spray of any kind, so I just had to give it a quick rinse with some water. Keep in mind that you’ll get some white sap and this would not be good for anyone with a latex allergy. Tear the green part from the central stem and continue to tear or cut it into tic tac sized pieces. I then steeped the fresh “tea” with 3 cups of boiling water in a teapot for 8 minutes.
Y’all–this stuff smells and tastes like fresh figs. No joke. It’s not sweet like a fig, and you can certainly sweeten it with sugar or honey, but it’s perfectly good as is, hot or cold. I had it hot plain, then sweetened the rest of the pot with a little sugar to bring to work and drink iced (reallllly good that way too). By the way, the tea left in the pot kept steeping for over an hour and never got bitter, just darker and more concentrated. As for the medicinal properties, I’ll keep doing my research. In the meantime, this is a great way to get the most out of your fig tree!
Charlie's Garden 