The Hunter’s Wife Series – Fig Conserves
Do you have a fig tree in your yard that’s dropping overripe figs right now? Here’s a quick and easy recipe you can make to keep all those figs and enjoy them later!
We here in the South would probably call these “Fig Preserves,” but my neighbor, Joyce, an England native, calls them Fig Conserves. If you are a study of the English language, “conserves” is probably a better word for this fabulous, easy jam. This is Joyce’s personal recipe and loved by everyone in the area. Joyce rations it out in exchange for favors – a trick she learned from living in the South for six decades.
Shortly after moving into the neighborhood, Joyce asked her husband to plant a fig tree at the front corner of their house. He went big and bought four fig trees, but the only one that thrives is the one located where she told him to plant it. To this day, she still wonders why he bought four trees when one would have been enough. I reminded her that sometimes when we love someone, we go all out!
Joyce recently attempted to use her “newfound” southern charm on our new neighbors. She tried to convince the young man to pick figs for her, and failed tremendously. He had no idea he was expected to stop everything, climb on a ladder, and pick figs.
After regaling us with this story a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went over to help her pick the figs and do a little pruning. And after 3 hours of pruning in 95-degree heat and humidity, we came home with 19 cups of figs and a couple of BI-LO coupons which expired the next day. The grocery coupons ended up in the trash, but I will be handing out jars of Fig Conserves to clients and prospects for weeks to come!
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh figs, chopped
- 4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup lemon juice, fresh
- 8 8-oz jars
*If you are at all tempted to use lemon juice from a plastic lemon-shaped vessel or jar, stop! Go back to the store and get a real lemon. The acidity of the bottled kind is less than that of a real lemon, plus it often contains sulfite preservatives and oil from the peel, which boosts the sour taste. The goal here is to simply adjust the pH so your jelly will jell. You will need more volume of bottled concentrate than real lemon, which messes with the liquid proportions. If you must use a substitute, use 1 Tsp powdered citric acid for this recipe.
Directions
- Clean fresh figs with cold water. Cut off stems, cut in half, then chop into small pieces. (If you are like me, no matter how you measure fresh figs, you aren’t going to end up with exactly 6 cups of chopped figs. The quick math is to multiply the number of cups of figs by 0.66, and that’s how much sugar you need).
Place chopped figs, sugar, and lemon juice in a pot and let stand for 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally as the figs juice out into the sugar. (Do not rush this step, as it is important for the natural juices to mix with the sugar before cooking).- Slowly bring the fig, sugar, and lemon juice mixture to a boil, stirring almost constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until it turns a brownish hue.
- While the fig conserves are cooking, prepare the jars and lids by boiling them in water in a separate canning pot or stock pot. Drain all the water from the jars and fill with fig conserves. Do not tighten the lids until the vapor escapes. It’s ready when you can push down on the lid and the divot stays down. Tighten the ring and store for up to 1 year.
Read more: The Hunter’s Wife Series – Venison in Porcini Mushroom Sauce
