Do you have a bunch of yummy figs laying around that are practically minutes away from going bad? Do you want to feel like Joanna Gaines, without TOO much effort? Do you not have a ton of ingredients? Are you a jam novice? Then this recipe is for you!
Yesterday, we went to the market, and found ourselves surrounded by the decadent and sensual fruit - figs. We just had to buy some! Unfortunately, with it being from the market, they didn't have a long shelf-life, and I was racking my brain trying to think of a way to make them last just a little longer.
Enter the idea of jam.
I've never made jam before, but it is one of my favorite things to indulge in, so I figured I'd give it a try. I found a recipe for fig jam here, and tweaked it a little (basically halved it - to fit one Bon Maman sized jar approx., plus that's all the figs I had left after snacking on them for 24 hours.)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
230 gr/8 oz of figs
1/4 cup lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
Directions:
1. Weigh and wash 230 gr. figs.
2. Combine the sugar and water in a small/medium sauce pan on a medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
3. In the meantime, de-stem your figs, and cut them into small chunks. Also, juice your lemon. (I felt particularly resourceful, because we'd already used the lemon for zesting - booyah!)
4. Add figs and lemon juice to the simple syrup. Bring to a boil.
5. Cover it partially, reduce heat, and allow it to simmer for one hour.
6. After an hour, if you don't like the level of chunkiness, use a potato masher to break it up some more. Take it off the heat, and allow it to cool. Then move it into a jar, and it should keep for 2 weeks! Voila!
For Aidan's post-nap snack, I cut up some bread, added some local walnut cheese (yummm), and then the jam.
He loved it, Dan loved it, I loved it... we all loved it!
What I loved most, was that the beautiful figs didn't get wasted, and that I made something new!
