I love smoothies and usually have one or two every day. For most smoothies I like to keep it simple with no more than 3 or 4 ingredients. I really like this fig smoothie... 2-3 bananas 4-6 figs a few ice cubes 2 cups of vanilla almond milk Sometimes I may add a little cinnamon or a few dates, or some fresh squeezed OJ. It's always fun to experiment with smoothies.

Just a quick search on Yahoo brought this up: Fig leaf tea helps support proper insulin response. Researchers in Spain have shown that fig leaf (ficus carica) tea can help maintain proper insulin levels. It can easily be made using 2 teaspoons of dried cut leaves. Pour 1 cup of boiling water over the leaves, cover, and let the brew sit for 10 to 15 minutes before drinking. Drink 1 cup each morning at breakfast. Dried fig leaves can usually be purchased at your local health food store. Consult with your doctor - if you're currently taking medications, before use. 2 years ago http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/Legacy/c/blood_sugar_health_recs.aspx

Tomatobob, sounds like that might be nice. I have the Grand Marnier but no fresh figs. I'll have to wait until next year. "gene"

I do have fig recipes that do not call for blanching, but I agree that the most current official approved recipes, like those from the National Center for Home Food Preservation do have a blanching step in the process. I am going to assume that the blanching relates to one or more of these things: 1) Some figs (I am not sure if all varieties do) have a natural waxy coating that blanching might remove. 2) Figs are not, technically speaking, a fruit. They are a synconium, a form of a hollow pod lined with hundreds of tiny flowers. In order for pollination to ocur, insects must enter the tiny opening at the end of the synconium. Colloquially, this opening is often referred to as an eye, and I know that some fig varieties have a more open eye and some have a closed eye. Often, ants will take advantage of the tiny opening and crawl inside it and feed on the figs. So will some other small pests. So, I'm wondering if maybe the brief period of blanching is intended to drive out ants or any other tiny insects that might have craweled inside the eye? Figs are a huge family, and not all of them require pollination and some only need it for the second crop, but not the breba (first) crop. Some recipes call for a brief blanching period, a few call for a loner soak in water that then is discarded. I am not sure what the difference is, but maybe it relates to the finished product. 3) And, there's also the possibility that since figs must ripen fully on the tree since they do not continue to ripen after being harvested, that blanching is needed for the same purpose it is used with other fruits and veggies (generally pre-freezing or pre-drying) to halt the ripening enzymes from continuing to darken or soften the food (though I do not know why the BWB process wouldn't accomplish the same thing). If you want an answer from a canning expert, which I am not, you can post this question over at the Harvest Forum here at Garden Web. That's where the canning experts hang out.