Fresh Figs (无花果)

Figs (无花果)

This is not with reference to the recent drama serial by the same name on Channel 8! I am talking about the usual edible stuff i am known to post on my blog!  

Anyway, the above picture shows the dried figs i know from young. Eventually, i get to know of preserved figs that are way sweeter than the dried version.

I am ashamed to declare that it was only recently i realised figs can be eaten fresh without any kind of processing!

Thanks to episode 16 of the Korean variety show, Family Outing!

And it was with thanks again, to Mr Korny Kon, who brought us a bag of fresh figs all the way from China (thanks, as well, to his sister in law)! 

This afternoon made it the first time i actually see a real fig with my own eyes and caress its sticky greenish body with my bare hands!

From far, the flesh of the fresh fig looked like an infected bloodied wound with tiny worms!

The taste was of course not as disgusting; refreshing sweetness that screamed out the goodness of nature!

Question:

Why is a fig (the fruit of the ficus tree) known as 无花果 (directly translated as no-flower fruit in Chinese)?

No teaser today since i am really tired after a super short and tiring weekend!

Answer:

According to wikipedia, "The fig is commonly thought of as fruit, but it is properly the flower of the fig tree. It is in fact a false fruit or multiple fruit, in which the flowers and seeds grow together to form a single mass."