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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
Adapted from Cooking Light via MyRecipes.com
Ingredients
- 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 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.
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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.
Helena says
Really delicious! I even accidentally doubled the lemon and honey and still delightful. I used it to make italian-style almond thumbprint cookies and it went fabulously.
Martha says
Ooo – great idea Helena!
Charlotte says
Absolutely incredible! I cannot make enough! I love it thick and leave the lemon peel (cut in smaller pieces) Thank you for sharing. My first time creating jam of any kind!
Martha says
You’re welcome Charlotte! Glad you enjoyed the jam!
LeeAnn says
Perfectly delicious!! I followed the recipe exactly as written, and will do the same next time I have too many figs to eat!
Martha says
So glad you enjoyed the jam LeeAnn!
LeeAnn says
Nevermind. I googled it. If anyone is interested, a pound of figs is 2 1/2 cups chopped, or 12 small figs. Now I can make the recipe!!
Martha says
Thanks LeeAnn!
LeeAnn says
I don’t have a scale. Do you have any idea how many figs are in a pound? Thank you!
Martha says
Hi LeeAnn – We don’t currently have any figs on hand to estimate…plus it will also depend on the size of your figs. For something like jam, measurements in weight vs volume is the most accurate. If you are buying them at the store, you should be able to weigh them there.
Roberto says
Awesome!
I just made this recipe, and my first time making jam. I enjoy the addition of the lemon zest and thyme (and I used orange blossom honey because I had some).
I’ll be looking for more figs so I can have some up until next year.
Martha says
So glad you enjoyed the jam Roberto!
Rebecca says
I loved this recipe! When the jam was done I took the lemon peels out, dipped them in sugar and stuck them in the oven to dry to make candid lemon peels. What a treat! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Martha says
Great idea Rebecca! So happy you enjoyed the jam!
Janet Pham says
We have a fig tree in our yard and were surprised to see it produce so much fruit this year! For some reason, my husband and I don’t like to eat them fresh (texture maybe?) but we LOVE fig jam so I’m excited to try this recipe. My only question is how sweet is it? I’m always weary of how much sugar I add to anything, would 1/4 cup be too little? Thanks!
Martha says
Hi Janet – As we mentioned in the post, the jam is sweet but not too sweet and the lemon and thyme really balance the sweetness. Could I suggest that you make a small batch as written and then decide? Also, the sugar does help the natural pectins in the fruit set the jam…cutting it back to 1/4 cup may impact the thickness of your jam.
Laura Manning says
Can you double and triple the recipe? I was wondering if it would taste the same. I have around 4 lbs of figs.
thank you
Martha says
Hi Laura – We’ve only made small batches but I don’t see why you can’t make larger batches. I suspect the cooking time might vary with the larger batches.
Daniel says
Hi Martha,
I decided to make this jam since our fig tree is out of control and we loved the flavor! However, my jam came out more watery even though I did the full 50 minutes. I want to try another batch but any tips on what I may have done wrong? Maybe heat too high or wrong type of pot?
Thanks in advance.
Martha says
I’m not sure Daniel (it’s always difficult to troubleshoot from a distance)! Did you happen to make a larger batch than just the single recipe quantities? If so, it’s entirely possible it just needs to simmer longer with the larger quantities. One trick is to spoon a small amount of the jam on a plate and place it in the freezer to cool – after a few minutes, you can get a sense of how thick the jam will be once it cools so you know whether to simmer the batch for longer. Hope that helps!