The French novelist Andre Gide described figs as "the closed room where marriages are made". And the fruit has long been considered an aphrodisiac.
The Romans ate huge amounts of both fresh and dried figs. The finest fresh ones were an expensive delicacy, while the cheap ones were described by Pliny as the food of slaves.
And they're still popular today as Anna Mcnamee discovered when she went to visit the food writer Diana Henry who uses them to make a most unusual dessert...
