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Last Updated on September 4, 2019 by Diane Hoffmaster
Fig jam isn't something you normally see when you stroll down the peanut butter and jelly aisle at the grocery store. In fact, I am pretty sure I have never actually had fig jam in my entire life. Other than Fig Newtons I don't know that I have ever even eaten a fig, much less try my own fig recipes! Ok, maybe once as an appetizer at a friend's house? (update... I made a prosciutto fig pizza with fig jam and it was heavenly! )
What Do You Do With Fresh Figs?
I have never bought fresh figs because, quite honestly, I have never come across one at the grocery store. But, I was at the farmer's market last weekend and low and behold there was a guy there selling figs! If you have a ton of figs, check out The Complete Book of Home Preserving to find out how to preserve them for use all year round.
Nutritional Benefits of Figs
So, are figs healthy? The certainly have quite a few nutritional benefits, the biggest one being that they are very high in fiber. Figs are a great source of soluble fiber. This helps keep you full longer and helps relieve constipation. They are also rich in many important vitamins and minerals. For example, figs are loaded with Vitamins A, B1 and B2, manganese, potassium, magnesium, copper, iron, and phosphorus. So, spreading a little fig jam on your toast is a great way to start your day!
The Fresh Fig Tree Battle
My husband has been trying to convince me to put in a few fruit trees for years. One of the fruits he comes back to time and time again is the fig. Did you know that figs were one of the first plants cultivated by humans? How crazy is that? And apparently growing figs here in Georgia is relatively easy.
After my incredible luck with this fig jam recipe, I am seriously considering letting my husband have a go at growing our own. Of course, with a few fig trees in the yard, I would probably get more fig jam than I could use in a lifetime but I bet I would have some seriously happy neighbors! Isn't the inside of the fig beautiful?
Other Easy Fruit Recipes to Try
- Frosted Grapes Recipe for Healthy Snacking
- Apple Rhubarb Crisp Recipe
- This Southern Peach Cobbler Recipe
I Don't Know How to Can!
So, the thing that turns me off from making most jam is the whole pectin and canning thing. I have tried it once or twice with very little luck. I know some people think it is incredibly easy but I am not one of them! This fig jam is not canned! You just cook the figs down on the stove for an hour with some water, sugar and a bit of lemon juice. Mash with a potato masher to make it a tad bit less lumpy and let cool. That is it! Then just chill and use wherever you want a bit of fig jam!
I will be making a fig jam appetizer with it this weekend so make sure you stop back by next week for the recipe. But, even if you don't want to get very creative with your homemade fig jam, it tastes delicious on a plain old English muffin.
Can I freeze fresh figs?
Fig season is rather short and you rarely find them in the grocery store. Learning how to freeze figs can help you have a nice supply of them year round. Freezing figs is very easy. Just slice them in half and lay them on a cookie sheet line with wax paper. Stick them in the freezer overnight. Then, remove the frozen figs carefully from the wax paper. Place them in freezer safe plastic storage bags. Store frozen figs in your freezer. Remove them from the freezer and thaw them in your refrigerator before use.
How do you eat fig jam?
So, once you make this homemade fig jam, what do you do with it? Here are a few ways to use up a jar of jam (and not just the fig kind!)
- Make your own fruit-flavored yogurt. (just spoon it onto plain or vanilla yogurt)
- Bake some on brie. Top a wheel of brie with a few spoonfuls of jam. Wrap the whole thing in phyllo dough or puff pastry. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes
- Add some to a pan sauce for meat. Fig jam makes a nice glaze!
- Top creamy desserts with it like cheesecake or pudding.
- Make stuffed French toast. Just use a thick slice of bread and use a knife to slice it open and spread the jam inside.
Easy Fig Jam Recipe
Easy Fig Jam Recipe
This fig jam is sweet and easy to make with no canning required!
Ingredients
- ½ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 16 ounces (1 pound) figs, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Into a medium sauce pan place the water and sugar
- Heat over medium high heat until sugar is dissolved
- Add figs and lemon juice
- Bring to a boil
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook one hour, partially covered
- Mash with a potato masher if you prefer a slightly less chunky fig jam
- Let cool and store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 25Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 0g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Inspired by WeeklyBite.com
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She has two college aged kids, one husband and more pets than she will admit to. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire but left her career in science to become a stay at home mom. Years of playing with LEGO and coloring with crayons had her craving a more grown up purpose to her life and she began blogging and freelance writing full time. You can learn more about her HERE.
Scott
That does look easy! We've canned tomatoes, etc., but haven't taken a shot at jams yet. May have to try it!
Marysa
This looks amazing! I would love to make this, especially since it is so easy!
Courtney Walker
What specific size jar do you use for this recipe? Its hard to tell from your pics how big it is!
Diane Hoffmaster
It is a small 4-ounce mason jar!
Kelly Hutchinson
What a delicious and easy way to can figs. Yum!
Cinny
Does that look yummy or what?
jennifer medeiros
I had no idea you could can anything without a long process. This looks delicious and easy to do.
Becky
Just made this today and it is wonderful!
Diane
So glad it worked out well for you!
Ashley
Can you freeze this like freezer jam?
Diane
yes, it freezes quite nicely!
Kimberly Olson
What do you freeze it in? I'm getting ready to make this today and will have a lot to share but if I could freeze some for later times, that'd be awesome!
Diane
most mason jars are freezer friendly but you could freeze in plastic if you prefer that!
Sarah
Just made it, but it was quite thin and syrupy, not thick like jam. Will it thicken as it cools?
Diane
It definitely thickens as it cools. Did it turn out okay?
Allison
I can hardly wait to try this when figs start showing up in the stores here in MA. I make jam frequently, and I do the pectin/canning thing, and I've decided that the final processing ruins jams like strawberry or peach that have less natural pectin - the final boil to process the jars ruins the thickening. This sounds great! Thank you
Diane
Hope you enjoy....it was delicious!
Karen
I can't wait to make this! Our neighbor gave us a large bag of fresh figs from their tree. Never have made any jam before. Should be fun.
Great post!
Diane
Good luck! I hope it turns out as delicious as mine was!
Francine
Are the figs peeled? I have the “white” Adriatic figs.
Diane Hoffmaster
I did not peel them, however, I'm not sure about white figs!
susan
Can this be canned for longer shelf life?
Diane Hoffmaster
I am not a big canner so not sure. However, you can freeze it and thaw later when needed. Good luck!
Priscilla
What did I do wrong? Mine is not thick at all.. Just a watery liquid.
Diane Hoffmaster
I would say maybe it needs to cook longer or you need to add more fruit. It should thicken up as the fruit simmers. It will still need to chill to really solidify but it should at least be thicker than it sounds.
Marsha
Do you really use 1/2 cup lemon juice ? Seems like a lot !
Diane Hoffmaster
It gets loads of sweetness from the sugar and the figs. Worked for me!
Sharon Rester
Made this today and oh my goodness!!! I don’t eat figs but I sure did eat this. My husband loved it, so easy and I will definitely make again.
Diane Hoffmaster
So glad you enjoyed it!
Wendy
My husband visited his Tia and brought home about 2 pounds of fresh figs from their tree. I had juiced some less earlier this year from our tree and froze it for later use--TODAY! So homegrown figs and lemons in this. Looking forward to trying it, it's simmering down right now. But it smells absolutely wonderful!
Wendy
I had juiced some LEMONS...
stupid computer! lol
Diane Hoffmaster
that does happen unfortunately!
Diane Hoffmaster
I am so glad you are making this and hope it turns out well! Enjoy!
Cindi
I want to try this as we have a lot of figs right now. About how many figs are in a pound?
Diane Hoffmaster
It really varies by size. I would get a scale but someone recently said about 30 to 35 worked for her.
Cindi Poole
I made this today, it is so good. I peeled my figs and probably used about 32-35 figs.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Diane Hoffmaster
I am so glad it turned out well for you!
Pamela
I followed recipe exactly. Used two pots one small one medium. Both batches failed to jell. I believe the 1/2 cup of lemon juice is the problem. I am going to up the heat and try to cook it longer to reach the jell stage.
Diane Hoffmaster
Im not sure what could be causing the issues. The recipe has tons of great results from others but if you figure it out, please let me know.
Margaret
Have you ever added some kind of chili’s or hot pepper? I had one from a store and it was great!
Diane Hoffmaster
I have never tried that! Sounds tasty! I love the combo of sweet and heat!
Katie
Question- if you follow the recipe, how many jars of jam does this make?
Diane Hoffmaster
It really depends on the size of your jar. I got several small jars which lasted several weeks in the fridge but not enough to freeze in bulk.
Maria Victoria
I have made this jam several times with great success. I use a little less sugar if the figs (from our own tree!) are very ripe. The lemon juice helps set the jam, besides providing great flavor. I'm making a batch now with frozen figs from the summer. It smells wonderfully!
Small rectangular plastic containers work well for storing and freezing the jam. It lasts way longer than 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Love it!
Diane Hoffmaster
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Sue
I made the fig jam yesterday it was so simple to do never made jam since I was at school that’s a long time ago, so did not know what to expect I did it to the recipe I used 16 figs they where not tiny but I was disappointed about how much it made it only did one full jar and a tiny bit more enough to put on a slice of toast so worked out a rather expensive jar of jam, but it’s real good was expecting it to be a dark brown in colour but it’s like a dark pink will try it again I need some for a cookie recipe I have seen but it’s all depending on if I can get hold of the figs near Christmas
Diane Hoffmaster
Im glad you enjoyd the recipe. It really does take a LOT of figs to make a decent amount of jam but what you do get is very delicious!
Carolyn
I made this, but next time I will use less sugar. I don't like things too sweet.
Diane Hoffmaster
Good luck. Reducing the sugar in many jams is tricky since it does play a role in thickening the jam.
Annan
Can you use packaged figs if out of season? My mom love Fig jam and would love to make for her.
Diane Hoffmaster
I dont think dried figs would work, however, I did make an apricot jam once out of dried apricots. I added juice to the dried fruit for added liquid.
Charlene
Mine also came out quite thin even after cooling to room temperature. I will try to look for longer and possibly add more sugar. I used 16oz of figs on the dot too.
Diane Hoffmaster
I find that once you put it in the refrigerator to chill, it will get thicker. Hope that works for you.