Yesterday morning I was rudely awoken by the sound of crows outside my bedroom window, great start to my Labor Day lie in. The crows were chomping down on the nice juicy figs hanging off the tree in my back yard. I decided that was it, if I wasn’t going to get my lie in, they weren’t going to get my figs and so begun and unplanned day of Fig chutney and preserve making. I toyed with the idea of making a nice fig and goat cheese tart, figs wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with Manchego cheese or even a lovely chocolate and fig pie, but I resisted. All of the above would haunt me in the refrigerator for the next week saying ‘eat me, eat me’ when I’m trying not to. With the chutneys and preserves I would have the satisfaction of using up all my lovely ripe figs but not consuming them all that day. I had a couple of dusty boxes of jam jars out in garage so all I needed were the lids and rims. After trying a few grocery stores I found them for a couple of dollars.
First up was the chutney, I used the slightly firmer figs and modified a number of recipes I found, to one that was to my liking and to the spices in my cupboard. I’ll have to wait a few weeks to really see how it tasted, next was the preserve, all the recipes I found had different ratios of fruit to sugar, I prefer preserves slightly tarter but you always need to have enough sugar to properly preserve the fruit for months to come. Almost all the recipes also called for thinly sliced lemon, so in it went along with some sugar and a small piece of cinnamon stick. The recipes are below so give them a try! Looking forward to my next batch of canning and preserving, my pantry should be filled in no time for those last minute ‘very thoughtful’ holiday gifts. To find out more figgy facts here
Fig Chutney
1 cup red wine vinegar
11/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 pound light brown sugar
1 onion, chopped
11/2 inch grated fresh ginger
½ tsp fennel seeds
1/4 lemon, zested
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 star anise
1 canned chipotle in adobo (remove before canning)
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 1/4 pounds firm, slightly under ripe fresh figs, rinsed, stems removed and halved
In a large saucepan combine the vinegar, sugar, onion, ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, salt, chipotle and spices and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until mixture is thickened and reduced by 2/3, forming a thick syrup. Add the figs and cook gently until the figs are very soft and beginning to fall apart and most of the liquid they’ve given off has evaporated, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the chutney into air tight containers and store in fridge or freezer for about 3 weeks, or you can store it in sterilized hot glass jars and then place in canner for 10 minutes.
Fig Preserve
4 Cups whole figs
2 Cups sugar
2 Lemons, thinly sliced with seeds removed
1 Cup water
1 pinch salt
½ cinnamon stick
Wash figs in water. Rinse well and drain.
In a large, heavy pot, add all the above ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer. Simmer for 40 minutes or until very thick and jam like. I like to test a spoon full of jam on a cold saucer and place it on the freezer. If after a couple of minutes the jam has set I know it is almost ready if it is still runny it needs further cooking. Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, seal with hot lids and bands, and process in boiling water bath or canner for 10 minutes.
Figs have the highest overall mineral content of all common fruits. A 40 gram (1/4 cup) serving provides 244 mg of potassium (7% of the DV), 53 mg of calcium (6% of the DV) and 1.2 mg of iron (6% of the DV).Of the approximately five grams of fiber per serving of California figs, four grams are insoluble and one gram is water-soluble.
