Big Al, good for you. Each variety of the ficus caria has its own fruit ripening characteristics and you will have to learn the characteristics of your Black Fig. Generally however the fruit swells and droops immediately prior to ripening. Other characteristics can include, color change, cracking, or a drop of nectar forming on the end of the fig. When I have a fig fruit ripening on a plant that I know little or nothing about, I maintain a journal so I can determine when the best time to harvest is for the future. A technique I adopted (after reading this forum) is to wait at least an extra day when I think the fruit is ready. Conventional wisdom is that if you pick the fruit prior to peak ripening it will not improve.

Lastly the size of the fruit could be due to many factors, 1) natural characteristic of your plant, 2) less fruit could cause the plant to direct its energy.

Lastly you bet I would try to eat it. I do recommend that you take a picture once you cut it open to share with us later.

Good Luck
Vinnie

That one fig is a breba that is why is so big.
Breba are most of the time much larger than main crop.
Let it ripe till it start shrinking and then take it off.
If it is not fully ripe a breba will not taste good,but poor.
If you want to Enjoy it then wait till hanging completelly vertical,and shrinking a little.
H2

H2 thanks for adding those important points. I guess I got lost in my response but intended to indicate that I suspected that the large fig was a breba and the fruit that is now forming is the main crop.

Thank you, Al, for the question, and Thank you, John and Herman, for the answers. I have been picking mine the moment they drooped, and I have been disappointed in the flavor.

I have MVS, Chicago Hardy, Kadota, Violetta and Italian Red coming near ripening; the MVS are already dark and beginning to soften. I've eaten three of those and the one large fig off my unknown tree; should have waited a few days more. I will wait now until they hang straight down.
Ox

Hey Al,
Does this one look similiar to your's.This is my Blackjack Breba just ripened today.
Rob

Here is a link that might be useful:

Hey Rob, that exactly what it looks like thank you, and thank you to all that replied.

BTW how did that taste ?

Big Al

I also recently harvested a huge Black Jack breba. Sorry,
because it was way down in shade, the color was not typical
of BJ, so I did not take a pic. But I did measure/weigh it.
Appox 3x2.5" and a (whopping) 102 grams! Very similar
in shape (tennis ball size) to Rob's but much less dark
skin. It was quite a juicy mouthful (or 2) with an average
welcome fig taste.

Maybe not as big as softball (a grapefruit originally came
to mind!), but there again, there are many 'soft' balls...

hahaha

I know that's right George

Cecil

Big-Al,
I do have a fig specimen called "Big Al", no-kidding!
All I know that the fig is of Italian origin, not a big
fig, and most probably named for a 'big' source (whatever
that means). I must make-one for you, or send some cuttings...

Big AL,
you wrotew is it ok to eat it, yup!
I had a nice size main crop fig from one of my trees , i remember it sweet and juicy they tend to get watery at this size . I would take a small rich sweet tasting fig over the larger ones actually.
Here is older picture for folks that were not around at the time it was shown.
4 and a half ounces or about 126 grams.
{{gwi:750924}}

Good post Martin, I guess you topped all this!

For all you newbies, we all wish to have large/plentiful
figs. For some 'good' southern regions that may be very
possible. For US up-north-fig-people, because of our
shorter 'hot' summers; small/medium figs tend to perform better.

Gorgi, you have mail !

Big Al

Hi Guys. I have couple good size Figs,Italian origin and would like to trade cuttings also for Big size fruit cuttings