How to make fig jam

Why it wants acid

A ripe fig is around a fifth sugar by weight and barely acidic at all. Concentrating that with more sugar gives a preserve with nothing to push against.

Lemon juice — generously, two lemons per kilo — supplies the acid the pectin needs and the sharpness the palate needs. Many good fig preserves go further and include a splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar, which pushes the whole thing towards a condiment.

The pectin problem is handled by jam sugar or by including a grated cooking apple. Figs alone will not set firmly.

The method

Chunky rather than smooth, which suits the fruit. FoodHQ does not publish keeping times, jar-processing schedules or the acidity figures that decide whether a sealed preserve is safe on a shelf. In the UK the Food Standards Agency is the authority — follow its guidance on sterilising, sealing and storing.

1. Trim the hard stem end from each fig. There is no need to peel — the skin softens completely.
2. Chop them into quarters or eighths depending on size, and weigh them.
3. Put them in a pan with the juice and zest of two lemons per kilo and a splash of water, and leave for an hour if you have time — the sugar draws out juice.
4. Simmer for fifteen minutes until the fruit has softened and started to break down. Crush some against the pan side and leave some whole.
5. Put two plates in the freezer. Add sugar — jam sugar, in around three-quarters the weight of the fruit, since figs are already sweet.
6. Dissolve over a low heat, then boil hard and test from eight minutes.
7. Stir in a splash of balsamic off the heat if you are making the savoury version, then pot.

Variations and how to use it

• Fig and walnut, with chopped walnuts stirred in at the end. The classic cheeseboard preserve.
• Fig and balsamic, a tablespoon off the heat, which turns it into a condiment.
• Fig and star anise or cinnamon, tied in muslin during the cook.
• Fig and orange, using zest as well as juice.
• Fig and red wine, replacing the water with wine and reducing it first.
• With blue cheese, goat's cheese or a hard sheep's cheese, which is where a fig preserve belongs.
• With cold ham or a terrine, in place of a chutney.
• Spooned over a baked camembert.

Notes

Ripeness

Very ripe figs give more flavour and less set. Slightly firm fruit holds its shape and carries a little more pectin.

Dried figs

Make a dense, dark, excellent preserve. Soak them first and add more liquid.

Sugar

Less than for most jams — around three-quarters the weight of fruit. Figs bring their own.

Seeds

Numerous, tiny and crunchy. They stay in and are part of the character.

Texture

Aim for chunky. Fig jam boiled to smoothness loses what makes it interesting.

Common questions