Fig Jam & Spiced Fig Jam

[zaydia]

This is an adaptation of a Food & Wine recipe. For spiced fig jam, add the optional ingredients below.

Fig Jam
3lbs of fresh figs (I found them for only $3.99/lb at Trader Joe's!!!),
1.25 cups sugar,
.75 cups water
.5 cups bottled lemon juice
1 5" cinnamon stick (optional)
1 tsp black peppercorns (optional)
1 star anise (optional)
1 vanilla bean, split (

Comments

[velvetpage]

That sounds fabulous. I suspect I'd leave out the peppercorns and star anise and just go with the cinnamon and vanilla; and I wonder what it would taste like with some cloves or nutmeg?

[zaydia]

You know, I was a bit worried too, because I don't really like anise flavor, but it turned out better than I expected! The spice flavor is really subtle, and just tastes like Fig, but better. Like a very warm taste.

I didn't have any whole cloves, or I would have put maybe 2 or 3 in the spice bag too, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

I think it's a very versatile recipe and you can certainly add in whatever flavorings you want! I saw one that mentioned honey and bay and another that had rosemary and port, which both sounded delicious.

[purlewe]

This sounds delish. I've even upped the flavor with exactly those spices by adding a thai chili (whole and fished out at the end) That sounds SOOOOO good.

[zaydia]

Wow, that sounds really interesting. Did it impart the fruitiness of the chili or the heat?

[purlewe]

well it was with sour cherries so both. the heat lingers slowly (but never gets hotter) and the fruity was definitely there. But the idea of pairing it with figs sounds like a dream come true for me. Thanks so much!