For the love of figs
There are very few times that I wished I lived in California, but fig season is one of them.
Believed to be indigenous to western Asia and to have been distributed by man throughout the Mediterranean area, figs were one of the first crops cultivated by humans. Fossils of fig plants have been found in excavations of sites traced to about 9400–9200 BC.
Figs grows best and produces the best quality fruit in Mediterranean and dryer warm-temperate climates. Producing two crops a year (a small one in the spring, and the main one in the fall), they can be eaten fresh, dried, or made in to jam.
While I have been known to gorge myself on the fresh versions, this fall has been about the jam making for me. I recently got in to canning/preserving and felt that I needed to make sure I had enough figs to get me through the winter. After reading multiple recipes, I decided on a drunken fig version (b/c a little booze never hurt anyone). It is quite possible one of the best things to ever come out of my kitchen.
Pair it with some soft cheeses (brie or chevre), slather it on sandwiches, use it in cookies, or even make ice cream out of it (you can be sure I'll be trying this out). However you choose to use it, it will be well worth your time. So get out to the store today and get some fresh figs before they are gone!
DRUNKEN FIG JAM
(makes about 6 1/2 pint jars)
4 lbs ripe fresh figs (preferably black), stemmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 lemons
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup cognac
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
Zest lemons in to long strips. Combine lemon zest, figs, sugar, cognac and salt in a large heavy deep saucepan. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Bring fig mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to boil until mixture thickens and reduces, stirring and mashing occasionally to crush larger pieces fig pieces (approx 30-40 minutes).
Ladle mixture in to 6 hot clean 1/2 pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top of the jars. Remove any air bubbles and wipe jar threads and rims with a clean damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw bands. Process in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Cool compeletly, making sure that all lids have sealed (you should hear a pop when it comes out of the water, but you can press down on the lids too to ensure sealed).
Store in a cool dark place for up to 1 year.
Believed to be indigenous to western Asia and to have been distributed by man throughout the Mediterranean area, figs were one of the first crops cultivated by humans. Fossils of fig plants have been found in excavations of sites traced to about 9400–9200 BC.
Figs grows best and produces the best quality fruit in Mediterranean and dryer warm-temperate climates. Producing two crops a year (a small one in the spring, and the main one in the fall), they can be eaten fresh, dried, or made in to jam.
While I have been known to gorge myself on the fresh versions, this fall has been about the jam making for me. I recently got in to canning/preserving and felt that I needed to make sure I had enough figs to get me through the winter. After reading multiple recipes, I decided on a drunken fig version (b/c a little booze never hurt anyone). It is quite possible one of the best things to ever come out of my kitchen.
Pair it with some soft cheeses (brie or chevre), slather it on sandwiches, use it in cookies, or even make ice cream out of it (you can be sure I'll be trying this out). However you choose to use it, it will be well worth your time. So get out to the store today and get some fresh figs before they are gone!
DRUNKEN FIG JAM
(makes about 6 1/2 pint jars)
4 lbs ripe fresh figs (preferably black), stemmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 lemons
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup cognac
1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt
Zest lemons in to long strips. Combine lemon zest, figs, sugar, cognac and salt in a large heavy deep saucepan. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Bring fig mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to boil until mixture thickens and reduces, stirring and mashing occasionally to crush larger pieces fig pieces (approx 30-40 minutes).
Ladle mixture in to 6 hot clean 1/2 pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top of the jars. Remove any air bubbles and wipe jar threads and rims with a clean damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw bands. Process in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Cool compeletly, making sure that all lids have sealed (you should hear a pop when it comes out of the water, but you can press down on the lids too to ensure sealed).
Store in a cool dark place for up to 1 year.
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