A fig cake, or cake of figs, is a mass or lump of dried and compressed figs, usually formed by a mold into a round or square block for storage, or for selling in the marketplace for human consumption. The fig cake is not a literal cake made as a pastry with a dough batter, but rather a thick and often hardened paste of dried and pressed figs made into a loaf, sold by weight and eaten as a snack or dessert food in

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

countries and throughout the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. It is named "cake" only for its compacted shape when several are pounded and pressed together in a mold.

Historical references

Fig cakes have historically been used as food in ancient times. The

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' f bread and two bottles of wine... and an hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs (), etc. (1 Samuel 25:18)

And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs (), and two clusters of raisins, etc. (1 Samuel 30:12)

Moreover, they that were nigh unto them... brought bread on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, even food made from flour, ndcakes of figs (), and bunches of raisins, and wine, etc. (1 Chronicles 12:40)

As early as the 1st-century CE, dried and pressed fig cakes were being delivered to a place called Beit Qarnayim. In the 2nd-century CE, fig cakes prepared in southern

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, near Keilah, were widely held to be more succulent and sweeter than other known varieties of dried figs and were, therefore, given special status., s.v. Demai 2:1 A field measuring 50 x 50

cubits The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noa ...

with at least 3 fig trees or more could produce as much as of fig cakes. Fig cakes produced in

Bosra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...

were thought to be of inferior quality to those produced in Palestine. The fig tree native to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

(which in Roman times included Palestine's

Judaea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the prese ...

), with its superb qualities, was eventually introduced into

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, as attested by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

(23–79 CE).

Manner of preparation

The old method of producing fig cakes is to take selected ripe figs that are most succulent and to pound them in a large, wooden mortar with a long wooden pestle. After kneading the mush together, it is taken up and formed into either round or rectangular loaves within molds. Once laid within the mold, the surface of the figs was smoothed off, either with liquids had from other fruits, or with smooth stones. Another manner of preparation was to take figs that had already been dried and to open them up and put one on top of the other, producing cakes known as ''keziah'' (). Straw was often spread on top of them to help in their preservation. These, unlike the regular fig cake, did not last long and usually became worm-infested after a short time. They were made into round or square cakes. Figue sec

Similar to the fig cake, but still different from them, are the ordinary dried figs () that have not been compressed together. The Arabic speaking population in the

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

area often prepared dried figs ( = ) by laying them out to dry upon a large stone slab that had been covered with crushed leaves and stems of thyme-leaved savory ('' Micromeria fruticosa'') for flavoring. This is also thought to have been done because of the Thyme-leaved savory's anti-fungal properties. Often, the process of drying was done on a flat roof top. In the drying, olive oil was sometimes added to the figs, to enrich and preserve them from mould or rot. In some places, anise ('' Pimpinella anisum'') () is sprinkled on the dried figs () to refine the taste. According to

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

, such figs were laid down upon mats to dry. In late Roman times, dried figs were packed in sealed earthenware jars for prolonged storage.

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

mentions that, in his day, dried figs were packed together with the leaves of the female sort of ''phlomos'' (), possibly a species of mullein ('' Verbascum'' spp.), to keep them from decaying.

Figs intended for drying are left on the trees until they are fully matured and rich in sugar. They are collected in baskets and spread on the ground or on rocks to dry. Progressive farmers spread them on mats. All drying is done in direct sunlight for about 3 days, depending on the temperature. Once dry, they are placed into a heap. This operation equalises the moisture in the heap, otherwise some will be too moist while others may be too dry. After a day the figs are spread out again and dried for another day. They are then ready for the bin. This dried fig is known as ''Goutein'' . Sometimes the figs are split in half with the fingers and put on rocks to dry. ...In many villages the split figs are struck together to form a ball about the size of a coconut. This is known as ''Dibleh'' in Arabic and ''Dvelah'' in Hebrew. These cakes are pressed and are mainly sold to the
Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
who cut off slices as required.

In the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, figs are dried over the platform roofs of traditional houses, while those that are kept for fresh consumption are laid over fig leaves or put into baskets made from cane. Those that are to be dried are placed upon cane mats and exposed to the sun. These are rolled up during the night to protect them from humidity. They are sun-dried in this manner for days, with a thin net placed over them to prevent insect infestation. They are preserved with rice flour.

Varieties of fig

Modern-day dried figs are often procured from Turkish or Calimyrna figs ( Turkish: ''Kuru incir''). Fifty-four varieties of figs are known to exist in Palestine. In Modern times , the varieties of figs grown for eating and drying, mostly by

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

Fellahin A fellah ( ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a local peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". Due to a con ...

, are such types known in Arabic as ''Moazi'' (''Mwazi''), which is also known as ''Hurtemani''. Other varieties used for eating and drying include the ''Hedari'' fig (also spelt ''Khdari''), the ''Sbai'', and the ''Shatawi''. Those varieties used exclusively for drying are the ''Haroubi'' fig, the ''Sfari'' (a yellowish fig found in the

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

sub-district and in

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

) the ''Biadi'' and the ''Himari''.

Etymology

The

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

word for fig cake is ''dveláh'' (). In contrast, the Hebrew word used for a "dried fig" is ''grogereth'' (), pronounced ''ğǝroğereṯ'', or "dried figs" in the plural, ''grogeroth'' (), pronounced ''ğǝroğǝroṯ''. Words related to ''dveláh'' appear in other

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. They include Arabic, Amharic, Tigrinya language, Tigrinya, Aramaic, Hebrew language, Hebrew, Maltese language, Maltese, Modern South Arabian language ...

. In

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

- Syriac: (ܕܒܶܠܬܳܐ) ''diblatua'', ''dǝvelta'' means "''dried fig; fig cake."''. (J.P. Margoliouth's supplement) In Arabic ''D'bala'' () means 'to press into a ball'.

References

{{Authority control Fig Plants in the Bible Ficus Ancient dishes Fig dishes Dried fruit

Historical references

Manner of preparation

Varieties of fig

Etymology

See also

References