I began eating dried figs regularly early this year. I’ve eaten them before, but only occasionally. They are delicious. It’s not uncommon to bite into a dried fig that doesn’t taste terrible – but it doesn’t taste as good as the others either. About a month ago, I bit into and swallowed a couple of bites that fit that description. Then, I looked at what was left in my hand, and it was black inside. I had no idea what it was and imagined all kinds of health problems that might result. I threw it into the trash, and the rest of the bag quickly followed.

Unfortunately, I was anxious to get rid of it, but I wish I had studied it more closely. I began researching and found online information about what it could have been. A common problem with figs appears to be black mold, also called black smut or fig smut. What I have read so far indicates it won’t hurt humans to eat it, although it’s not recommended.

Just as interesting as black fig smut is this Huffington Post article about growing figs in general. I had no idea it was so complicated. Some types of figs do not require pollination, but the type I was eating does…by fig wasps, which I never worried about eating until now. It might be a while before I eat any more figs, fresh OR dried.