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Figs Jam
By
DK
on Aug 01, 2012
Figs have been flourishing in the aisles of my local Farmer's market. I haven't been as welcoming of Figs as it supposedly deserves, at least not until recently. The thing with "Good Habits" is that it always meticulously chooses (with 99% success rate, I tell ya!) the stuff which you don't like to do. Sigh! Anyways, with its standard motto of "Its good for you", I finally convinced myself to include it in my "I am reforming when I ...." list.
I assure you, I have progressed from keeping my face as if in pain, to being indifferent as far as consuming the fruit goes. To be honest, its not as bad as my mental vision (of self torture - no less) conjured it up to be. I can at times be such a drama queen. The dudes in my family love Figs and hence I judiciously buy them year after year. And this year I even helped in creating a dent to the numbers - not only by eating them raw but also by making this delicious (yes, I actually did use that word along with figs...I told you, I am reformed!) Jam or preserves if you will.
I have been making Jams for quite a number of years, but in last couple of years have restricted myself to making small quantities. The kind that probably would last me 10-15 days. The main reason being I like variety and opt to try jams with various seasonal ingredients. Secondly, low sugar Jams have less shelf life than their full sugar cousins. So my latest guest to the refrigerator is this Fig jam with some warming spices added to it.
In my opinion, this Jam is a cornucopia of flavors. The minute you put it in your mouth, you get a blast of sweetness from the honey and hint of cinnamon. It travels down your throat leaving a trail of warmth thanks to the ginger and with the lingering taste of figs in your mouth. All in all, it will brighten up your morning (noon, evening or (mid)night!)
References
from my kitchen notes
Basic Information
Prep Time: Under 15 min
Cook Time: Under 30 min
Serves: 2 people
Yield: Makes around 2 cups of Jam or 1 pint ( or two 1/2 pint) Jars.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (abt 455 grams) ripe Figs
- 1/4 cup Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp Lemon zest, or from 1 med-large lemon
- 1/2 tsp ground Ginger, see Tips
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 1/2 cup honey, see Tips
- 1/2 cup Sugar
Tips
1. Honey: Using honey is a matter of taste. If you are not sure of your preference, I would suggest starting off with 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup sugar and taking it forward from there. Though you can use all honey, our taste defines that 1/2 cup is the perfect balance before it overpowers the taste of figs (and anything else we might add to it). Honey has a strong flavor and tends to take over both aroma and taste. Hence I stick to 1/2 cup. But you can use any other sweetener you like or go the traditional route and use all sugar instead. Honey and Sugar have almost same shelf life, but since this uses less sugar than traditional Jams, consume it within 10-15 days.2. Ginger: You can also use 1/4 cup of chopped crystallized ginger instead of the ground ginger. Want to go for fresh ginger? Then use abt 1 tbsp grated ginger root plus sugar to taste instead.
Method
1
Wash the figs well.
2
Trim the stems.
3
Now add all the ingredients together in a heavy pan.
4
Place in on a stove top on low-medium heat
5
until the sugar dissolves.
6
Increase the heat to med-high until it comes to a boil
7
and starts thickening. Make sure to keep stirring on and off.
8
When the Jam starts reaching the setting stage, remove the cinnamon stick.
9
Check for doneness. I usually dip a chilled spoon into the boiling jam mixture. In the beginning, you would notice that syrup simply runs of the side of the spoon, but as the time passes it will start becoming heavier and would fall slowly as drops. You know its done when two drops form together and "sheets" off together from the spoon. Another test I do is by placing a plate in the freezer. When I am ready to test, I remove the plate and add few drops of the boiling jam mixture to the plate. I place it back in the freezer for few seconds. If the mixture gels, then the jam is ready.
10
When ready, remove the jam from the heat and set aside. Ladle the jam into 1 pint jars, let them cool and then store them in the refrigerator. If you planning for longer shelf life, then do the canning process as picturized here.
Enjoy it with your toast, oatmeal, on top of a baguette and anywhere your fancy takes you :)
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Hey,
This looks like a delicious recipe! Just wondering roughly how long you have to boil it for, I’m wanting to make it tonight but don’t know if I’ll have enough time!
Cheers
Just one question how long will it keep ? I prepared the jars as I would for other jams I have made. Also how should I store the jam once made
Yum first jam I ever made and nice our black fig tree is over doing it so finding new ways other than fresh to consume them, thanks for the recipe.
hurray, I have made my fig jam for the first time. thank you for the tips.
hi! just now i made this jam.turned out wonderful.thanks.can u give some sugarfree jam recepies?
I am wondering if I can make this jam with all honey or agave, and what about stevia? Does jam work without granulated sugar?? Thanks! Looks great!
Personally as I mention in the Tips section, all honey makes it too overpowering for me. Honey has such a dominant flavor so I wudnt use all honey for me personally. I havent tried with Stevia yet hence have no personal opinion but I have heard that cooking with stevia gives a bitter aftertaste (ditto for another product called Stevia in the Raw) so your jam probably might end up tasting bitter. But as I said, this is just hearsay and not my personal opinion. Agave has similar properties to that of Honey – in the sense that the main sugar type is Fructose. I came across this article here throws light to your question – see if it helps: http://extension.psu.edu/food-safety/food-preservation/faq/making-jams-jellies-with-agave-syrup –DK
Is it possible to make this with granulated sweetener instead of the sugar or honey?!
H1! IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE THIS JAM WITH DRY FIGS,PUTTING IT IN HOT WATER (BLANCH) WITH YOUR GIVEN INGRIDIENTS.REPLY ME SOON IAM TEMPTED WITH THIS PICTURE.THANK U
I havent personally tried it and hence have no idea. But there is a recipe for a Jam with dried figs. refer my “Tips section in my Fig Newton Recipe – it might give u an idea –DK
I made this jam and it’s fantastic! I’m wondering – can you freeze it? I cannot can on my current stovetop as it takes the finish off.
Oh I havent personally done this – see if this thread helps – http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/697403 –DK
Can this jam be water-bathed so it will keep and could be given away as gifts??
Oh yes! Definitely. –DK
I just made this and it was fabulous. I did not have a cinnamon stick, I just used a smig of ground and it is so dang good. Thanks, Melissa
This is such a great blog.. Just stumbled across it accidentally.. NOT EVEN SURE HOW .. and now, I cant take my eyes off of it. Beautiful Narration, Creative Recipes, Stunning Pictures… Keep up the good work. Being a physician and a mom of an infant and a toddler, i have kept my culinary skills on the back burner for a while now and looking at this Fig Jam I am revamped and am heading to whole foods after work
Thank you so much. I have a toddler myself and I know where you are coming from. With an infant and a job, I can only imagine
But its wonderful to see that you are still motivated. Women power! –DK
Just made this!! It came out amazing! Soooo delicious! It has a full body of flavor and really stands out from other jams! This was my first time ever making homemade jam and now I dont want to stop! haha. thanks for the amazing recipe!
for some reason fig-jam isn’t one of the popular ones, but it really should be. I love that you take the time to do step by step. It really helps in the case of the jam making too, to see the consistency one is aiming for and how it thickens. I never take the time to photo stages, but I always feel guilty as it’s such a useful tool.
Bookmarking this one. i am the only one who eats figs in my place. Why not increase my pleasure for 10-15 days more aking this lovely jam for myself?
Selfish am i not?
Trust me, being selfish at times is good. Like in your case
–DK
I love to eat figs.Yummy and healthy jam.
Gosh DK!! This Jam is beautiful. Loved the colour and the grainy texture.
Isn’t it? Can you blame me for giving it lovey dovey looks, much to non stop sniggering from the other half? Hmpf! Men! –DK