A breba (or more commonly ''breva'' in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
, and sometimes as ''taqsh'')
is a fig that develops on a
common fig
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
tree in the spring on the previous year's shoot growth.
[Fig - California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc.]
/ref> In contrast, the main fig crop develops on the current year's shoot growth and ripens in late summer or fall. Breba figs of certain varieties don't always develop the rich flavor that the main crop has. Growers of those varieties frequently discard the brebas before they ripen to encourage growth of the main crop because the main crop is generally superior in both quantity and quality to the breba crop. Other cultivars such as Black Mission, Croisic, and Ventura produce good breba crops.
In some cold climates the breba crop is often destroyed by spring frosts.[ However, in other areas, the summer may be too cool for the main crop to set so the breba crop is the only crop that will ripen.
]
References
{{Moraceae-stub