Figs are one of my all-time favorite fruits! But unfortunately, living in New England where figs are not locally grown, it is often hard to find fresh figs. And when we do find them, they are either very expensive or – being a highly perishable fruit – not of the greatest quality.
So I was extremely excited to walk into my local market last week – where I spotted a large display of fresh figs on sale for a great price. (If you see them too…buy some!) I grabbed a few pints and immediately started plotting to make this Small Batch Fig Jam recipe.
This Small Batch Fig Jam recipe makes a 1-cup jar of jam – perfect for a special treat. The jam is sweet but not too sweet, and the addition of lemon and thyme complements the flavors of the fig in a very delicious way!
This gorgeous fig jam is absolutely fantastic served on crostini with a sprinkle of bleu cheese (see note in our recipe below), spread on buttered toast or a bagel, spooned into some hot oatmeal, or used to make our Prosciutto and Fig Pizza with Arugula or these Prosciutto Rolls.
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Small Batch Fig Jam
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup
Description
Adapted from Cooking Light via MyRecipes.com
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1½ tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 pound ripe fresh Black Mission Figs, stemmed and quartered
Instructions
- For a very thick jam (as shown) simmer for the full 50 minutes. For a looser jam, simmer only for 40 minutes.
- Using a vegetable peeler, remove strips of rind from lemon, being careful not to include the white pith as you peel the strips.
- Place lemon rind strips and all other ingredients into a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir to combine.
- Bring contents in the saucepan to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 40-50 minutes (*see note above) or until mixture thickens, continuing to stir frequently so the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Discard thyme stems and lemon peel. Pulse jam with an immersion blender to chop up the fig skins if desired.
- Pour into an 8-ounce jelly jar. Keep refrigerated for up to one month.
- This jam may also be canned in sterilized jars using the water bath method.
Notes
To make the crostini we show in our photos above, simply slice a baguette into diagonal slices. Toast until golden brown, then (optional) rub each slice with a clove of garlic that has been cut in half. Spread our Small Batch Fig Jam onto each slice, then top with crumbled bleu cheese.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
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Prosciutto and Fig Pizza with Arugula
Grape Nuts Pudding with Fig Sauce
HI Martha, I’m Dee. I’m looking for a chutney easy type of recipe. I came across yours, that’s Fig Jam. I need to do a large cheese platter for a Bridal Shower. with that said, would your Fig Jam stand up to the cheese platter I will be putting together? Or do you have a good Chutney recipe you can recommend. Need this within two weeks, if you can help me. Thank U for your time.
Hi Dee – We’ve used both the Fig Jam and well as our Tomato Jam (https://www.afamilyfeast.com/tomato-jam/) on a cheese board – neither are as a chunky as a chutney, but they both work well with the flavors of a cheeseboard or charcuterie board with meats and nuts included. In terms of recommended chutney recipes, I haven’t tried this one, but have found that Simply Recipes is always a good source for recipes and this is more of a traditional mango chutney: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/homemade_mango_chutney/ – it looks simple, and you could probably use frozen mango chunks in place of fresh if needed.
Hope this helps!
This recipe is excellent!! I didn’t have fresh thyme, so used a little bit (1/4 tsp) dried. Really outstanding!!
★★★★★
Thanks Leslie!
This is a great recipe! Can the fig jam be frozen ? If so, what would be the shelf life .
Thank you in advance
★★★★★
Hi Roberta – We’ve never tried freezing this jam ourselves.
This was the best fig jam I have ever made. I only added a pinch of salt. Thank you so much for sharing.
★★★★★
You’re welcome Glorita – so glad you enjoyed the jam!
Hello from Oregon! I’ve never tried fig jam (and honestly…can’t remember a time where I have eaten a fig before today) but my sweet neighbors shared an abundance of ripe figs with us. In the recipe, the figs are stemmed and quartered – do you peel the skin off of them first as well? Total beginner to the fig world here! I’m excited to try the recipe as it sounds delish!!! Thank you in advance
★★★★★
Hi Allison – How lucky for you! No need to peel the figs. Hope you enjoy the jam recipe!
This is delicious !!
I didn’t have any thyme, but other than that I followed the recipe.
Someone pass the biscuits !!!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Renee!
We were in the Netherlands and bought a fig jam and love it on our homemade burgers. Unfortunately our jar is empty now. I have not been able to find fresh figs. Was wondering if you could use dry figs for this recipe?
Hi Nancy – I’m not sure. I suppose you could try soaking the dried figs in warm water to reconstitute them a bit. And the dried figs may be sweeter overall so you might be able to get away with less sugar. I do think you’ll need to make some adjustments to the recipe as written. (But please let us know how it turns out if you try it!)
In our area (New England/United States) we usually see fresh figs towards the end of summer/early fall – so hopefully you can find them then!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! I’d never made jam before, and this recipe proved to be super easy. I used all ingredients except for the thyme, (I didn’t have any) and the end result is DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing!!
★★★★★
You’re welcome Brenda – glad you enjoyed the recipe!
We have made this once and it was delicious. We are going to make another batch today with frozen Figs!
★★★★
Lucky you Sally! 🙂 So glad you are enjoying the recipe!
Small batch fig jam and small world!
After harvesting the last of my figs before our first hard freeze here in Cape Cod I was looking a good jam recipe since I had too many figs on hand. Followed the recipe exactly except doubled for all the figs. Cooked for the full 50 minutes to create thick and rich jam. Wow is this easy and super tasty, I have 1/2 dozen decorative jelly jars to gift over holiday season. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe Martha!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Trent! (I never knew figs could grow in our area!)
I have a fig tree in my yard and got an abundance of fruit this year. I’m sick of eating them fresh, but will certainly enjoy the jam this winter. Very easy to make. Thanks
★★★★★
You’re very welcome Vince! (How lucky you are!) Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Enjoyed this recipe a lot. In my opinion, I would have left out the thyme. The jam was delicious!!
I also made cake from one of the recipes where I used the figs
Thanks for your feedback Shelly!
I made the Small Batch Fig Jam today. It is outrageously good! I am enjoying some now with goat cheese. Sophisticated, yet subtle, flavors of lemon, thyme, and honey.
Thanks Sandra!
I was so happy to find this recipe that uses just a pound of fresh figs and was really simple to make. I didn’t have fresh thyme so tossed in a cinnamon stick instead. I just finished making it and it tastes delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
You’re very welcome Jodi – glad you enjoyed the jam!
How much time in water bath for fig jam. Please.
Hi Pat – Ten minutes should be sufficient.
This was delicious! I added about a cup of pitted cherries because I had them and they weren’t getting eaten quickly enough. I loved the addition.
★★★★★
Wow Heather – What an interesting combination! It sounds great!
Hi! Greetings from India. I am going to try this jam. Was wondering, no water in the recipe while boiling? Please revert so I can start making it. Thank-you.
Hi Supriya! No need to add any water – the juices from the fruit (figs and lemons) are enough. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I’m about to make this! But I’m going to add chilies! It’s divine with blue/brie cheese avid crackers! Xoxo
Sounds great Roan!
Martha,
Like others who commented, I have never had fig jam. I like the idea of a small batch to taste
test,especially with the blue cheese. Figs are now on my shopping list, for your jam and other recipes I have collected. With summer winding down, I’m looking forward to your posts this fall.
Thanks,
Linda
Thank you so much Linda! I hope you love the jam! Enjoy the recipe of your weekend! Martha
I don’t think I have ever tried fig jam before! I am intrigued 🙂 I bet it tastes wonderful.
It is delicious Tanya! Hope you’ll give the recipe a try!
I also haven’t tried fig jam before but will be trying to follow your recipe to create some. It looks delicious! Thanks Martha
Thanks James!