Cakes & Bakes

Can You Freeze Dried Figs?

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Dried figs are used in a multitude of cakes and bakes. While dried fruit does keep for quite a long time, if you don’t think you’ll use it up or want to keep it extra fresh, you might be wondering if you can freeze dried figs.

What are Dried Figs Used For?

Dried figs are used in many dishes, usually cakes, and other bakes but most famously in Christmas Pudding which is sometimes known as ‘Figgy Pudding’. They have a sticky texture which can become fudgy when cooked.

If you want to try to use up yous dried figs before freezing them, there are lots of recipes here.

How Long Do Dried Figs Last?

Ordinarily, dried figs will last between six and twelve months if stored in an airtight container at room temperature, ideally a pantry or other dark cupboard.

Dried figs can also be stored in the fridge, which is the best practice if you live in a humid climate as they’ll be less likely to go off.

Dried figs that have gone off typically smell bad and have signs of mould – these should be discarded and not eaten.

Can You Freeze Dried Figs?

Yes, dried figs can be frozen. Freezing will help them stay fresh and usable for longer and doesn’t have an adverse effect on the taste or texture.

How To Freeze Dried Figs

There are a few different ways to go about freezing figs – the method that works best for you will depend on how you plan to use the figs later on and whether you’ll be defrosting them all at once.

How To Freeze Dried Figs – Method 1. Chop and Freeze

This method is perfect if you’ll be chopping the figs anyway to use in baking.

Chop the figs into small pieces either by hand or using a food processor. They can be tough so try doing this in small portions.
Place the figs in a container or several small freezer bags. Alternatively, you could place the diced figs in ice cube trays if you’ll only be using/defrosting a small portion at a time.
Label and date the bags or containers for future reference.

How To Freeze Dried Figs: Method 2. Flash Freeze

This method works well if you don’t want to chop the figs and only want to remove one or two a time from the freezer as it prevents the figs from freezing in one big lump.

Take a metal baking tray and line with greaseproof paper.
Lay the figs out on the tray one by one allowing around an inch between them.
Place the tray flat in the freezer for 3 -4 hours until the figs are solid.
Once frozen, place the figs in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag.
Label and date the bags or containers for future reference.

How To Freeze Dried Figs – Method 3. Freeze as they are

You can also just pop your dried figs in the freezer as they are. However, this will result in them freezing in one large lump which can be timely to defrost as well as meaning all the figs need to be used up in one go. This wouldn’t be my preferred method but works if you’re limited in time or are only freezing a few dried figs.

How Long Do Dried Figs Last In The Freezer?

Dried figs keep well in the freezer and will be fine for between 12 and 18 months provided they have been stored correctly. They are still safe to eat after this time but may not be at the optimum quality.

How To Defrost Dried Figs

Dried figs will take different amounts of time to defrost depending on how many there are and how they were frozen. My advice is to always remove from the freezer and defrost overnight in the fridge the day before you need them. Alternatively, they can be defrosted for 2-3 hours on the countertop and then either moved to the fridge or moved immediately.