A Bite of Innovation: A new way of preserving figs

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Did you know that figs have enclosed flowers that bloom inside? The fresh fruit is so delicate that it has to be sold within 100 kilometers of its origin. Otherwise, they will rot before going on a shelf.

Fig's flower is inside its fruit. /CGTN Photo

To preserve figs, food producers traditionally salt the fruit and market them as preserved products. However, the method yields low profit and means much of the nutrients are lost.

Two years ago, You Yong, a Chinese businessman working in the fig business for over 15 years, decided that they needed to break the bottleneck and revolutionize the outdated storage method.

“If one stands still and does nothing, there is no way out,” You said. “But if you try to change, you might have a slim chance of survival.”

Frozen figs. /CGTN Photo

The innovative entrepreneur came up with the idea to freeze fresh figs in an extremely cold environment before defrosting them with sugar water for processing.

Defrosting figs with sugar water. /CGTN Photo

His new method, named cryopreservation, would keep almost 100 percent of the fruit’s nutrition.

Thanks to the new technique, You’s company Jinsifang Fruit has created more than 20 new products that are sold in China and around the world.