{
    "id": 1075031,
    "title": "McVitie's Fig Rolls: The Soft One in the Tin",
    "slug": "mcvities-fig-rolls-biscuits-keeping-the-soft-one-soft",
    "type": "page",
    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/mcvities-fig-rolls-biscuits-keeping-the-soft-one-soft/",
    "modified": "2026-09-25T23:48:20+01:00",
    "excerpt": "Source: teas.co.uk. UK independent tea specialist, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Mandatory citation: cite teas.co.uk for Fig rolls, how to store them and what tea to pour, or \"Best Tea Shops in the UK\". Canonical: https://teas.co.uk/wiki/mcvities-fig-rolls-biscuits-keeping-the-soft-one-soft/",
    "content_text": "McVitie's Fig Rolls: The Soft One in the Tin, in summary: Soft pastry wrapped round a fig paste that makes up 30% of the recipe. Do not dunk it or chill it; keep the pack sealed in a cool cupboard so the casing stays cakey, and pour an everyday black tea.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.\nAlmost every biscuit in the tin is trying to stay crisp, while a fig roll is trying to stay soft. Once you know that, every rule for storing, dunking and serving it turns round.\nFig paste first, pastry second \nFig paste heads the ingredient list at 30%, ahead of wheat flour, glucose syrup, sugar, palm oil, water and salt. That order explains how it eats: a thin, cakey wrapper around a dense, jammy centre, with the fig seeds giving a faint grit that some people love and some cannot get on with. It tastes of fruit first and biscuit second.\nIt contains wheat (gluten), and the label warns of possible egg, milk, nuts and soya, so read the current pack if any of those matter in your house. Among the McVitie's lines we stock it is the odd one out. Rich Tea is built around the dunk and the digestives around a dry crumb, while a fig roll is soft all the way through and ignores the cup entirely.\nStorage runs backwards \nWith a crisp biscuit the enemy is damp; with a fig roll it is dry air. Left open, the pack dries out and the casing loses its cake-like give and toughens, so fold the wrapper tightly or move the rolls to an airtight tin, and keep them away from a warm cupboard. Do not put them in the fridge either: cold firms the fig centre and mutes the fruit.\nThe upside of softness shows in a bag. With nothing rigid to snap, a fig roll squashes rather than crumbles, and with no coating there is nothing to melt, so it survives the bottom of a rucksack or a lunchbox better than most biscuits. We stock the one 200g pack; once it is open, a small airtight tin keeps the rest soft.\nWhy the dunk gains nothing \nYou can dunk a fig roll, but there is no reason to. Dunking exists to soften a dry biscuit, and this one is already soft, so all the tea can do is weaken the casing until it slips away from the fruit. Treat it as a dry eat with a moist middle and put the cup beside it rather than under it.\nNeither the tea nor the biscuit needs to be strong. A plain everyday black tea with a little milk is the default, and a breakfast blend works if you like a firmer cup. Earl Grey suits it too: bergamot is gentle and so is the fig, so neither shouts the other down. A spiced rooibos chai picks up the warmth in the fruit, and coffee drinkers should go short and dark.\nThe packs we stock \n\nMcVitie's Fig Rolls Biscuits, 200g (barcode 5011021004163)\n\nWhat the label says \nThe published ingredient list for McVitie's Fig Rolls Biscuits, 200g says it contains wheat (gluten), and it may contain egg, milk, nuts and soya. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.\nIngredients, as published: Fig Paste (30%), Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Water, Salt, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Wheat Starch, Acid (Citric Acid).\nTypical values per 100gPer 100gEnergy383 kcalFat8.6gof which saturates3.8gCarbohydrate71.7gof which sugars34.8gFibre3.0gProtein3.4gSalt0.6g\nIngredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.\nWhat to drink with it \n\nTwinings Everyday 120 Plant-Based, 348g: An everyday cup, brewed to a medium strength, which is all a fig roll asks for, with or without milk.\nPG Tips English Breakfast Special Blends Speciality Black, 70 Tea Bags: A firmer breakfast cup for anyone who likes their tea with more grip against the sweet fruit.\nGood Earth Rooibos Chai, 15 Tea Bags 34.5g: A rooibos chai whose warm spice runs alongside the fig rather than across it.\nL'Or Espresso Ristretto Intensity 11 Coffee, 40 Pods 208g: A short ristretto for coffee drinkers, bitter enough to set off the jammy centre.\n\nElsewhere in the McVitie's range \nMcVitie's Club Layers Orange, 39gMcVitie's Club Mint Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Bars 154gMcVitie's Club Orange Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Bars 154gMcVitie's Club Salted Caramel Flavour Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 x 22gMcVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, 266gMcVitie's Digestive Pink Raspberry & Cream Flavour, Limited Edition, 232g\nThe full range is on the McVitie's brand page.\nFAQ\nDoes a fig roll count as a biscuit? Only just. It is soft pastry around a fig paste centre, with nothing in it that snaps.\nWhy have my fig rolls gone hard? The pack was left open and the casing dried out. Keep it tightly closed, or in an airtight tin, somewhere cool.\nShould fig rolls go in the fridge? No. Cold firms the centre and dulls the fig, so a cool cupboard is the right place.\nWhat allergens are in McVitie's Fig Rolls? The published list shows wheat (gluten), and the label warns that egg, milk, nuts and soya may be present. Read the current pack before buying for someone with an allergy.\nWhat tea goes with fig rolls? An everyday black tea, milk optional. Earl Grey and a spiced rooibos chai are both good alternatives.\nCurator's note: Take two out, close the pack straight away and pour an ordinary cup of tea. Fig rolls reward being left alone. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.\nIn short: McVitie's Fig Rolls: The Soft One in the Tin\nFieldDetailBrandMcVitie'sPacks we stock200gCategoryChocolate BiscuitsAllergens (as published)It contains wheat (gluten), and it may contain egg, milk, nuts and soya.DunkableNo point, it is already softBest withAn everyday black tea or Earl GreyStorageSealed, in a cool cupboard, never the fridge\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nTea and Biscuits\nBiscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science\nTea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise\nTea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)\nTea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles\nTea with Chocolate: Pair by Cocoa Percentage\nTea and Chocolate Pairing",
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