Is There a Wasp in My Fruit? Here's Why Figs May Not Be Vegan (2024)

FAQs

Is There a Wasp in My Fruit? Here's Why Figs May Not Be Vegan? ›

But the mother wasp is enzymatically digested by the fig until it becomes one with the plant that killed it and birthed her young. The whole routine is gross enough to turn some vegans off of figs completely, though of course this varies from person to person.

Thanks to an enzyme (known as ficin) that's present in figs, the dead wasps are simply broken down and absorbed back into the fruit. Remember, not all figs have wasps in them. Some varieties - including many grown for the supermarkets - don't need to be pollinated by fig wasps.

“Whilst it is true that the majority of figs have had a wasp die inside them, it is in no meaningful way true to say that a vegan eating such a fig is really eating the wasp,” writes Vegan Friendly. “This whole process occurs naturally with no human involvement or cruelty to animals.

In short, NO. By the time the ingredients are turned into 'newtons' or anything else, there's no more detectable amount of wasp in them than there is co*ckroach or common fly.

Wait, am I eating wasp bits when I eat a fig? “There's no fig wasp in there by the time people are eating the fruit,” says Ferguson. The female fig produces an enzyme that completely digests the exoskeleton before hungry humans can take a bite. To be clear: “The crunchy bits are seeds, not wasp parts,” she adds.

Most commercial figs, like the ones you buy at the store, are grown without wasps. While wasp bodies may add some crunch to a tasty fig, you probably won't find a wasp inside a fig you are about to eat, even if you look really hard.

In natural wild populations of Ficus carica, figs suitable for consumption are produced on female trees only if they are pollinated by Blastophaga psenes, released from figs borne on male trees, which contain both wasps and pollen, and are usually not eaten.

You'll restrict grains and foods made with them, such as bread and pasta. You also limit starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn, as well as beans and legumes. And you'll cut high-sugar tropical fruits such as pineapple, mango, and bananas, as well as fruit juices and sweets.

Those crunchies inside the figs are seeds, not wasp parts. And if you're wondering, fig jam is not sweet baby wasp paste. Go ahead and visually inspect your figs to see what's inside them; it's just fig seeds, no wasps.

The bottom line. Vegans try to avoid or minimize all forms of animal exploitation, including that of bees. As a result, most vegans exclude honey from their diets. Some vegans also avoid honey to take a stand against conventional beekeeping practices that can harm bee health.

Do figs have ants in them? ›

When the fig is ripe, other insects (including ants) also enter the fruit through this opening to take a free meal. Figs need to be ripened on the tree because they stop sugar conversion once plucked. Fig tree ripening is often accompanied by the oozing out of a drop of sweet nectar through the eye.

A: Figs are super attractive to all types of birds, so the netting is not a bad idea. Unfortunately, other creatures of the night will show up and help themselves once they discover your tree. Opossums, raccoons, rats and mice all like to feast on the soft fruit and can climb the tree to get it.

The Star-K recommends checking all figs, even those bearing a reliable certification. To properly check figs: open each fig and carefully inspect the interior for any insects like wasps, beetles, or worms. If any are found, discard the entire fruit.

Yes, edible figs do include at least one dead female wasp. However, it is not quite the urban legend that fruits contain insect meat. When a female wasp dies within an edible fig, an enzyme known as ficin in the fig breaks down her carcass into protein.

If the wasp climbs into a female fig, she pollinates it, but cannot lay her eggs and just dies alone. Luckily for us, the female fig produces an enzyme that digests this wasp completely. The crunchy bits are seeds, not wasp parts.

Despite being called a fruit, a fig is technically a syconium—a tiny group of inverted flowers growing inside a pod. Each pod contains hundreds of flowers, and each flower produces a small seed, which is the actual fruit of the fig plant. An achene contains each seed.

They taste best eaten straight off the tree, ideally still warm from the sun. The entire fig is edible, from the thin skin to the red or purplish flesh and the myriad tiny seeds, but they can be peeled if you wish. Always cut off the stem. Wash the figs and gently pat dry to serve whole.

When Colin Purrington looked at a sample of dried figs under a microscope recently, he answered a question that had been bugging him for years. Inside the chewy fruits, he found the shriveled remains of several very small insects, including a type of parasitic wasp.

Fresh Green figs can be washed and consumed straight out of hand, drizzled with honey and served with cheeses, or tossed into salads. Green figs can also be used as an edible topping over yogurt, pancakes, and oatmeal, wrapped in prosciutto as an appetizer, or stuffed with nuts and cheese.