Figs! Figs! Figs! I have figs bursting off the trees in Italy. I’m very excited as this is my first really good fig harvest (if I can use such a word). I love figs. There’s something very luscious about them. They really are a decadent and sensuous fruit. You do have to be very careful how you pronounce then in Italian. While the word for most trees is masculine and the fruit is a feminine word, the fig tree is an exception. The tree and fruit are both masculine words. Figs – Fichi (fee-key). Do NOT pronounce them as if they were feminine singular (fee-ca) as it is a very bad word in Italian. Yup, I learned that one the hard way!
Figs are a great taste of summer. When we dine at Antica Boheme in Rome, if it’s the right season, they serve a gorgeous starter of fresh figs and prosciutto. (This such a simple, yet beautiful starter -the sweetness of the figs matches really well with the saltiness of the prosciutto.)
I don’t think North Americans eat figs and fig products as much as Europeans do. Maybe it’s because we don’t get fresh figs very often in North America and, when we do, they’re horribly expensive. The real reason is probably that we are still haunted by memories of the Big Fig Newton. If you’re too young to remember the commercial or have no clue what I am talking about, here’s a clip.
But I digress. Fresh figs on the tree mean that I get to make fresh fig jam. I love fig jam! Fig jam is not that well known in North American. I’ve made it before so, this time, I decided to try it two ways: plain fig jam and balsamic fig jam. The balsamic fig is jam based on the recipe by Tom Keller (French Laundry).
Both jams are great served with (and on) cheese. The balsamic fig jam is really good served with pork tenderloin. You can also use either jam for Pancetta Wrapped Pork Loin with Fig Jam.
Fig Jam
Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 40 minutes + 10 minutes water processing Makes: approximately 5 cups
What you need:
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) fresh figs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon
- 1/4 cup water
What you do:
- De-stem and quarter your figs, add to a medium-large pot
- Add the sugar
- Add the lemon juice
- Add the water
- Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil
- Reduce to simmer
- Cook for 30 minutes, break up the figs (I use a potato masher)
- Ladle into sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace, wipe the rim, add the lids and seal
- Water process for 10 minutes (after water has returned to a boil)
- Remove from pot, place on a tea towel on top of a cutting board
- Wait to hear the lids pop (if jars don’t pop, jam will keep up to 3 months in the refrigerator)
- Will keep for up to one year
Balsamic Fig Jam
Prep time: 10 minutes; Cook time: 70 minutes + 10 minutes water processing Makes: approximately 5 cups
What you need:
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) fresh figs
- 2 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 15 grinds fresh black pepper (about 1/2 tsp)
- 1 tbsp vanilla
What you do:
- De-stem and quarter your figs, add to a medium-large pot
- Add the pepper
- Add the sugar
- Add the lemon juice
- Add the balsamic vinegar
- Stir
- On a medium-high heat, bring to a boil then reduce to simmer
- Simmer for 60 minutes, break up the figs
- Add the vanilla
- Stir
- Ladle into sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace, wipe the rim, add the lids, and seal
- Water process for 10 minutes (after water has returned to a boil)
- Remove from pot, place on a tea towel on top of a cutting board
- Wait to hear the lids pop (if jars don’t pop, jam will keep up to 3 months in the refrigerator)
- Will keep for up to one year
Planning on a dinner party? Use your fig jam or your balsamic fig jam in Pancetta Wrapped Pork Loin with Fig Jam.
