I recently had the good fortune of being invited to pick figs from my old landlord’s tree in Davis. After a pleasant visit, I went home with a nice-sized box full of figs and a dilemma on my hands. I loved having all of these beautiful, sweet figs, but how was I going to use them all?
To start, I sorted through them to pick out ones that were overly fermented from being too long on the tree, and I set about half of the fruit aside to give to my family. I saved the other half for my boyfriend and I, and I decided to turn the figs into jam.
This was only my second time attempting fig jam. The other time was when I lived in the house with the fig tree a few years back. Then, as now, I wanted the simplest route to fig jam possible. The figs were honestly so soft and sweet that there was no need for added sugar or any kind of thickener. I looked at a couple of recipes, but I ultimately decided to try it my own way.
I washed the approximately two pounds of figs I had kept for myself, and I cut the stem and any rough parts of the skin off the fruit. I did not peel the skin off all of the figs- just where the fruit had attained some damage. After that, I quartered the figs and added them to a non-stick saucepan over medium high heat. I wanted the figs to break down into a mostly liquid form and then to bring the liquid to a boil. I added the juice of half a lemon to help balance out the sweetness. I also helped the breaking down process by stirring and breaking big pieces up periodically with a wooden spoon.
After bringing the figs up to a boil, I dropped the heat to medium low. Then I let it simmer uncovered, stirring periodically, for about one hour.
Once I was satisfied with the consistency of the figs, I took them off the heat, and I let it cool. The first time I made this jam, I put it directly into jars after cooling. This time, I wanted the jam to have a smoother consistency, so I pureed the mixture in my food processor before storing it. The jam filled ¾ of a quart size jar.
So far, I have used the jam for PB&J.
Figs also pair nicely with lamb.
Josh’s Fig Jam Lamb Dipping Sauce
Roasting juices from 1 leg of lamb
½ cup fig jam
½ cup brandy
2-3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir constantly to combine and prevent burning. Cook about 2-3 minutes. Serve with lamb.
