vanilla Fig jam
We had a fig tree in the backyard growing up. It sadly had to be pulled out after a few years because the septic system was being upgraded. The adults were all terribly upset about this. 12 year old me couldn't imagine why they were so upset. It seemed to be a terrible bore to have to wrap the whole top of the tree in nets when the figs were starting to ripen. And it didn’t stop the birds making a hell of a racket and some of them always seemed to find a hole in the net. Both my parents would yell through the kitchen window at meal times to try to frighten the birds away. Actually I didn’t mind if the birds ate the fruit … the truth was, I didn’t like figs. WHAAAAAT?! Yes, it is true. My love of figs started in my 40s.
And while we are on the subject of things you may not know about me… I did not drink coffee until my 30s. I can hear you mutter …”but I thought she was Italian?!” It is certainly a crazy thing but I think I am making up for it now, both with my daily obsessive consumption of percolator coffee and with my adoration of figs.
Finding good figs is mostly elusive unless you know someone with a tree in their backyard. This year I have been very lucky as my friend Elena gifted me a couple of kilos of just-picked beauties from her mother’s tree. They were green ones, the quality was like nothing I had tasted since my last trip to Italy at the end of summer 2022. We ate almost a kilo of Elena’s figs in a few days and then, as they were ripening faster than I could eat them, I made jam. This is the recipe I used. And it is crazy good poured over thick yoghurt (NB. you might like to make it a bit runnier like I do if you will mainly use it this way), in a jam crostata or simply on crusty bread.
You don’t need an excess of ripe home grown figs to make jam; less than perfect ones from the fruit shop (picked too long ago or a bit dry on the inside) also work fine.
vanilla fig jam
makes about 3 x 375 ml jars
1.1 kg fresh figs
470g sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
and a splash of grappa (optional)
Remove the stem part of the figs and chop into bite sized pieces (smaller if you do not like chunks of fruit in your jam). Place in a heavy bottomed saucepan with the sugar, juice and zest. Let them sit for an hour or so.
Turn the heat on low to dissolve the sugar, then increase slightly to medium, stirring occasionally. Let the fruit bubble away for about 40 minutes, checking every now and then to make sure the fruit is not sticking. Eventually it will start to visibly thicken.
While the jam is cooking, place clean upturned jars and lids in a 100C conventional oven for about twenty minutes. Let them sit in there with the oven off until ready to use.
Place a small plate in the freezer (this will be used to test the jam set) and have a few teaspoons ready.
To test if the jam has thickened sufficiently, carefully pop a clean teaspoon into the jam and pour it onto the plate that has been sitting in your freezer. If the jam is thick on the plate, it is ready. If it is runny, then cook a few more minutes, and test again. Once you are satisfied with the jam set, turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla bean paste (and a splash of grappa if you dare!) and allow to sit there for 10 minutes or so.
Pour the hot jam carefully into the previously prepared clean jars (make sure they are still warm! Don't put hot jam in cool jars or they may crack) almost to the top; then seal with a lid. Repeat until you have used up all the jam. If you have one jar that is half full, this should be used first and once it cools down, store in the fridge.