Green Fig Jam is my favourite! It reminds me of Bulgarian summer, sun and sea. That’s because the recipe comes from the southern Bulgarian Seaside. In summer, in small Bulgarian sea resorts, you can see elderly locals sitting under fig trees selling this jam. The figs are wonderfully sweet, with a delightful toffee-like texture, and the syrup in the jam tastes like honey. The Green Fig jam is great to serve with pancakes and ice cream.

HISTORY OF THE FIG TREE.

Do you know that the fig tree is believed to be as old as the human race, or even older? The fig tree was mentioned for the first time in the Old Testimony of the Bible as one of the trees in the Garden of Eden.

Historians speculate that fig trees were first cultivated in Egypt, and later introduced to the Middle East, the Balkans and the Mediterranean.

The best figs come from regions with hot dry climates, like the Southern Balkans, where the figs grow in such an abundance that they are even known to cause an environmental problem. Figs often fall from the tree before they get fully ripe, they decay and create a mess in the streets, so the locals found a clever solution to deal with the problem. They started picking the figs and developed the Green fig jam.

HEALTH PROPERTIES OF THE FIG.

Figs contain vitamins В1, В6 and K and a lot of minerals – beta carotin, calcium, iron, etc. In fact, there is more iron in figs than in apples. I recently read somewhere that two large figs have the same amount of calcium as half a cup of milk. The fig fruit is also very low in calories, 100 g of fresh fig fruit contains 74 calories. 

Since ancient times, the fig tree has been regarded for its medical properties. Figs are recommended for people with heart and liver diseases. They also help with soothing coughs and healing wounds.

I can confirm from personal experience that they also work for healing warts. My granny used to apply fig sap on a wart I had as a child, and after treating the wart with fig milk daily for a few weeks, the wart disappeared completely.

CULINARY USES OF THE FIG.

Figs are commonly used in salads, cakes and desserts. They also make beautiful jams and syrups.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST GREEN FIG JAM?

📋 INGREDIENTS

You need healthy green figs, as well as white granulated sugar and tap water to make the jam syrup. As for the preservative, use citric acid.

📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Prepare the green figs

First, you need to make sure that you have removed all the white sap from the figs because the sap is bitter. To do that, place a saucepan of water on your hob and heat the water to the boil. Place the figs in the boiling water and boil them for 5 minutes.

Fish the figs out of the water with a sieve. Change the water in the pot with freshly boiled clean water from your kitchen kettle. Bring the clean water to the boil and boil the figs for further 5 minutes. Repeat these steps 4-5 times.

Step 2: Prepare the sugar syrup

Figs do not contain pectins. What bonds this jam is the sugar syrup.

To make the sugar syrup, place the water and sugar in a large heavy-bottomed pot and bring the mixture to the boil on y the hob. When the water starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer the syrup until it’s reduced to 2/3 of its initial quantity.

Step 3: Make the jam

First, squeeze every single fig gently to make sure there is no bitter liquid left inside, then place them in the sugar syrup.

Bring the sugar syrup (with the figs inside) to the boil and simmer until the jam is ready. That will take about 30 minutes. Do a test to make sure your jam is ready.

Step 4: Add preservativE

This recipe calls for citric acid to be used as a preservative. Add citric acid to the jam when the jam is nearly ready. Stir and cook the jam for 5 minutes with the preservative and then remove it from the heat.

If for any reason you do not want to use citric acid, it’s good to know that the jam will be fine for a few weeks in your fridge without a preservative. Alternatively, substitute the citric acid with lemon juice. As one medium-sized lemon contains 3 grams of citric acid and the general rule is to use 4-5 tablespoons of lemon juice for 1 tablespoon of citric acid, for this recipe you will only need 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Step 5: Sterilise the JARS

Start by washing the jars in warm soapy water, then rinse them in clean warm water. Pressure canners are great for sterilising jars, but if you do not own one, use you can use the water bath method, for which you only need a large stockpot and your hob.

How to sterilise jars WITH the water bath method?

Pour boiling water from your kitchen kettle into a deep stockpot. Using tongs, carefully place the warm empty jars in the water with their openings facing down. This will make it easier later to take the jars out of the hot water. Add more boiling water to the pot, if necessary to cover the jars fully. The empty jars must be covered with at least 1 inch (3cm) of water on top. Place the jar lids in the pot, as well.

Bring the water in the pot to the boil. Set a timer for 10 minutes from the moment the water reaches a full boil. Place the lid on to prevent the hot water from splashing out. If the water is boiling too vigorously, reduce the heat until it comes down to a more gentle but full boil. After 10 minutes turn the heat off.

Take the empty jars out of the hot water with your tongs. Place all jars and lids upside down on a clean tea towel and cover them with another towel to keep them warm and dust free. Alternatively, you can place the sterilised jars in a warm oven to keep them warm and dry until you are ready to pack the jam.

Step 5: Pack the jam in the sterilised jars

Make sure the jars are dry and warm before packing the jam inside.

First, fish the figs and transfer them to the jars, then pour the jam syrup over the figs. If you have a jam funnel, it will make the job easier. Don’t forget to leave a 1-inch (3cm) headspace in each jar. Wipe the jar rim clean to remove air bubbles and tighten the lids. If you are processing the jars of jam, it’s important to use jars with screw tops. Jars with stoppers will pop open in the pressure canner or in the boiling water.

Step 6: storE Green fig jam

Place the packed jars with jam upside down on a tea towel and let them cool overnight.

If you are making small quantities, you can store them in a cool place for up to 2 months. However, if you want to keep the jam for an extended period, process the jars of jam.

🍲 HOW TO EAT THIS DELICIOUS JAM

Green fig jam is delicious with pancakes or in a continental breakfast. You can also use it as a topping for desserts or ice cream.

I highly recommend serving this jam with my Easy Waffles or my Breakfast Flatbreads, too.

Enjoy! 👨‍🍳👨‍🍳👨‍🍳