We were gifted a few pounds of Brown Turkey figs. What to do, what to do? We made fig jam for the first time last year. It was way too sweet for my taste buds, but my sweet aunt loved it. I have a spirit of determination when it comes to preserving and canning, so I wasn't going to give up. I’m learning new things daily, and there are lots of things I’m timid about trying- but I love a good jam. For the first batch, the tween decided to try fig newtons. I challenged her to locate a good recipe, and she delivered. I'll leave a link to the recipe she used at bottom of the post. The fig newtons actually turned out pretty good. They didn't last 48 hours in our house. The recipe again called for a whole lot of sugar, but this was only to flavor the figs. We left the figs whole and added cinnamon, sugar and water. This mixture was brought to a rapid boil then simmered for 45 minutes. The figs were strained and pulsed in a food processor. It came out light and fluffy, and it was absolutely delicious. The mixture was spread onto the prepared cookie dough and baked. Let me tell you. That recipe is worth the time and the effort. The only thing we needed to do differently was chill the dough. It was a little too soft to handle. I got to thinking about the recipe and thought it could lead to a nice compromise on my jam dilemma. My research took me to a recipe calling for only one half cup sugar and vanilla. So....with a few calculations, a little measuring, pouring and tasting, this is what I came up with. I like it, because it is not too sweet, and you can still taste all of the flavors melding together. It's also a small batch if you live with people who don't love figs. (I don't know what's wrong with them.) FIG JAM Ingredients 1 lb fresh figs, quartered or chopped 1/2 cup sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp cinnamon 2 Tbsp water Directions 1. Wash figs thoroughly and remove stems. Cut into four pieces or chop. 2. Place figs into a stock pot. Add sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon and water. 3. Turn stove on medium heat and bring mixture to a boil. 4. Turn heat down and simmer on low for 30-35 minutes or until the jam is set. Be sure to stir so it doesn't stick to the bottom or burn. 5. If you like your jam chunky, stop right here. If not, you can use a wooden spoon or food processor to mash or chop some of the fruit. 6. Spoon the hot jam into warm canning jars. If you plan to process them, you can water bath for 10 minutes. This recipe makes 4 quarter pints or 2 half pints. Notes: For this recipe, I used frozen figs. Figs are very delicate and do not last very long in the fridge, especially if they've been washed. I usually wash them and slice in half or quarters prior to freezing. These were frozen whole. They thawed enough to slice in thirty minutes. If you prefer smaller pieces of fruit, chopping is recommended. Here's the link to the Fig Newton recipe mentioned earlier.
1 Comment
JoZ
8/8/2020 11:49:50 pm
Hello there, How I wish that I had consulted with you before I followed a crock pot easy recipe for figs. Do I have a mess on my hands after coaching my husband through the process, We have turned it over to MARTHA AND THE PIONEER WOMAN CAST IRON FOR DELIVERANCE. He is "stone"fixed at getting to the end product.
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AuthorI'm a wife, mother, daughter, educator, writer and hobby farmer. Welcome to my world of simply living. Archives
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