Sponsored post for Expedia
Simple Fig Jam is an easy and utterly delicious, no added pectin recipe. Mediterranean in influence, use it as jam or enjoy with cheese which it complements beautifully!
When I think of Cyprus I associate it with lots of delicious food and produce including figs and lemons, so when Expedia asked me to take part in the World on a Plate Challenge I knew what I had to make, a Simple Fig Jam.
My husband lived in Paphos for a year as a teenager and fondly remembers the fig and lemon trees growing in the garden there. In fact I’m sure it’s my mother in law who suggested I make fig jam when I first started jam making as she is a huge fan of it.
I have to admit to being totally unfamiliar to figs as they are not something I grew up with.. I did love Fig Rolls though as a child, until the day I saw a dried fig and then I was totally put off them (kid logic)!
So back to the plot, Having tried some fig jam for the first time last year (that my mother brought back from a holiday), I actually really loved it and put it on my bucket list of jams to make. I decided to keep the flavour clean and simple with just the addition of lemon juice.
As figs are low in pectin rather than use jam sugar or pectin I upped the lemon juice in this recipe and also used the skins for additional pectin!
My simple Fig Jam turned out wonderfully and we have been enjoying it with cheese and biscuits as well as on croissants etc for a sweet treat. What surprised me most was the colour as the fig jam I’d been given was brown but this fig jam has a beautiful deep pink colour.
More fig recipes:
- Fig Curd – Feast Glorious Feast
- Fig, White Chocolate and Mascarpone Tarts – Tin & Thyme
- Baked Figs with Bacon, Sundried Tomatoes & Mozarella – Munchies & Munchkins
Don’t forget to check out the rest of my jam recipes as I have something for every taste!
I’m sure you’ll love this fig jam even if like me you don’t like fresh figs!
Do tag @FabFood4All on social media if you make it or better still leave a comment below! I love hearing from you:-)
Pin for later!
NB: I received vouchers to cover my ingredients and time making this recipe.
Simple Fig Jam
Ingredients
- 1.2 Kg Figs washed
- 600 g Granulated sugar
- Juice and skin of 2 small unwaxed lemons equating to 5 tbsp juice
Instructions
- The night before prepare the figs by trimming the stems, chopping in half and then chop each half into nine pieces, cutting in 3 both ways. (If you like a finer textured jam then chop into smaller pieces.)
- Place the halved lemon skins into a glass bowl along with the chopped figs and pour over the sugar followed by the lemon juice, cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
- Place all the fruit mixture into a preserving pan (or one of similar size) and gently heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
- Increase the heat and bring the mixture up to a rolling boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 38 - 40 minutes, stirring regularly until the mixture is looking thick and syrupy. You can use a potato masher to break up the figs if you wish.
- Discard the lemon skins and pot up in hot sterilised jars and seal with lids immediately.
- Store in a cool dry place and once opened store in fridge where it will last months. Jam is best eaten in 1st year but will last years if stored properly.
- Makes 1 ltr of jam (which for me filled just over 1 large and 2 small jars).
Laura Watson
Hi,
I have a mixture of ripe and unripe green figs in my garden. I would like to make this jam and was wondering can I combine the two figs together and do I need to boil the green figs first as I have heard there are toxins in green figs that can be dangerous and make the jam bitter?
Thanks.
Laura
Camilla
Hi Laura, try Googling Green Fig Jam, it seems like quite a lengthy process to boil and squeeze the green figs twice before you can start making jam with them and I don’t think they would mix well with ripe figs. You also need to be careful when handling as the milk that oozes from unripe figs is toxic and can be an irritant so hands, eyes etc so be sure to wash your hands immediately when handling. So I think it’s a case of making one type of jam or the other.
Debra
Fantastic recipe! I have never made any kind of jam before and found this recipe extremely easy to follow (I used a massive soup pot as I didn’t have a preserving pan and it has worked fine.
Do you have any advice as to (1) how much to let it cool before putting in jars and (2) when you put the lids on (eg how cool to let the jam be)
Thanks!
Camilla
Hi Debra, the jam should be potted up immediately, not allowed to cool and the lids should go on immediately too in order to form a seal (vacuum) so that it is shelf stable. I have updated the recipe to avoid any confusion.
Debra
Amazing, thank you!!
Tania
Thank you for the great and simple recipe! I am from Kyiv,Ukraine. I made it from figs bought in a supermarket, this jam is just perfect with cheese, or a peanut butter toast. Will put your recipe in my book of recipes! 🙂
Camilla
Awesome Tania, so glad you like the recipe:-)
Sula
Hi! Am I able to use frozen figs? have a couple of kilos of figs that i put in the freezer (supermarket were heavily reducing the price!) . I am so looking forward to trying your recipe, it is very simple, just as it should be! Never made fig jam before!
Camilla
Hi Sula, yes you can use frozen fruit in any jam recipe:-)
Sue Cornah
Have just made Fig Jam using your recipe!
The figs were from a tree hanging over from a neighbours Garden!
I grated the lemon rind, but the perfume coming from the jam is amazing. Can’t wait to taste it!
Camilla
Awesome Sue, so glad you put them to good use:-)
Ria
Dear Camilla, thank you for sharing your recipe. Made my second batch from a tree in my garden.
First time I’ve made fig jam and it tastes just wonderful! I have grated the skin of the lemon and used it in the recipe. Thank you again! xx
Camilla
Excellent Ria, so glad you like the recipe and lucky you having a fig tree in your garden:-)
Bethany
I’m going to try make this for my mum later, she loves figs! How long roughly would this keep for?
Thank you for the recipe!
Camilla
Hi Bethany, it is best in first year but will keep for years in a cool dark place. Once opened keep in fridge and will last months.
Christina
Reading all your comments and we’re your from your live in such wonderful places myself I’ve never been out of the USA . 67 years old and I’ve never made fig jam love it thank you….Christina
Camilla
Wonderful Christina, so glad you like the jam:-)
Maggie
I’ve recently moved to Northern Spain and figs grow prolifically here so I have been looking for ways of using them. This is the first recipe I’ve tried – the jam is now cooling in the jars so we haven’t started using it yet. The figs I used are a variety that does not have red centres, so my jam is a brown colour and has a slightly floral aroma. Cooking with the lemon skins has given it that distinctive marmalade bitterness; I love marmalades, so that’s fine – but if you don’t care for marmalade, perhaps the addition of some apples or apple pectin to achieve a set would be preferable? I have loads of apples here, so next time I’ll use those (and some lemon juice) instead of lemon peel to see how it affects the flavour.
Camilla
Hi Maggie, that’s interesting as I’ve never noticed this jam tasting at all like marmalade, perhaps it’ll taste differently once you’ve allowed the jam to cool in the jars. I’m sure you could just leave the skin out of the recipe and adjust the cooking time if needed. If you add apple I’d be checking for set way sooner as it is packed with pectin as you say:-)
dawn cann
Hi Camilla, I’ve only come across your recipe today as I found figs a plenty and wanted to preserve them. I never weigh a thing. I just saw you used sugar and lemon and realised its pretty much how I do all my jams. I’ve made around a dozen large jars full this evening and have now sat to read peoples comments and come across this one from Maggie. It made me wonder if you have missed something just as she herself did. You have got lemon juice in your recipe whilst it would seem she failed to notice that and so used just zest or peel. She then suggests using apple juice for pectin next time. I set all my jams by using lemon juice and feel that if strawberry jam can be made to set by using lemon juice which has citric acid in it that enhances the low pectin levels contained in that soft fruit then why shouldn’t it likewise set fig fruit. Your recipe is fine so long as lemon juice is used
Camilla
Thank you Dawn, glad you like my recipe. I’m sure Maggie would have used lemon juice too but who knows!
MrsMc
Just made my first batch. We are lucky enough to have inherited a fig tree when we moved to our home in France. Last year the wasps beat us to it, not this year. Looks and smells delicious. How long would you leave it until using it?
Camilla
Hi, you can use it as soon as it has cooled down:-)
Mrs Flint
Hi. Do you know how long this jam will keep for?
Thank you
Marianna
Camilla
Hi Mrs Flint, it’s best eaten in the first year but can last years in a cool dark place. Just store in the fridge once open and eat within about 3 months.
Tracy
Thank you thank you thank you for sharing! we have had a super crop of figs this year, we have about 7 young plants in the uk, and ive never made jam before, (the thought of having to test temp put me off) ive jarred up three this morning, and cant wait, it tasted lovely from the pan, so fairly confident its going to be perfect. We were getting a bit fed up with having to eat our selves sick in one month of the year lol, now we can enjoy all year round.
Camilla
Excellent Tracy, so glad you like the recipe and that you don’t have to over indulge in figs anymore:-)
Mary.
Using figs from my garden ..green figs which I think turn out a brown colour in jam.If u use I waxed lemons does it matter?
Camilla
Hi Mary, just wash the wax off the lemons using either some vinegar or I often use a little washing up liquid.
Mary
Actually replaced the Lemons to Unwaxed waxed ones in the end.Added a teaspoon of grated ginger to give it a kick too!
Used double the amount in your recipie and it was delicious and put the figs in my garden to good use.
The only negative comment I would make was that it was a bit too sweet so would use less sugar the next time.
Thanks for the lovely simple recipe.
Camilla
Hi Mary, just be aware that if you reduce the amount of sugar it may affect the keeping quality of the jam as the sugar ratio is already very low.