Fig Jam

Fall is the season to harvest what we have planted. If you have a bumper harvest of fruits from your tree, they can be cooked and preserved such as jams or jelly.

My neighbor Marie has a fig tree and turns the fruit she harvests into a jam. This year she gave me a jar of her fig jam. She used a mason jar to make the jam which makes it look very professional.

Her fig jam is really good, it is not overly sweet and you can taste a hint of lemon juice.

Fig trees produce more figs than most people know what to do with them. Making jam out of the ripe figs is a simple solution to this. The procedure is simple and you only need a few ingredients to prepare the jam.

            Ingredients: Makes about 7 jars (8 ounces per jar)

1)      Ripe figs (about 3 to 5 lbs)

2)      Sugar (amount should be equal to the amount of fig)

3)      Lemon juice (1/4 cup)

4)      Pectin (use 1 box, available in most supermarkets)

Procedure:

1)      Trim any stems from the fig.

2)      Chop the figs for faster cooking

3)      Simmer the figs; stir occasionally to avoid sticking to the saucepan. Simmer until tender.

4)      Add sugar (use equal amount of sugar to fruit ratio) and bring back to boil.

5)      Add lemon juice and pectin. The lemon juice would add tartness and makes the jam last longer. The pectin would improve the consistency of the jam.

6)      Bottle the jam in sterilized mason jars.