fig jam

During a trip to France, I tasted a fresh fig for the first time and fell in love.  I think it was on a picnic with our professor, who somehow procured enough market fresh fruit, charcuterie, oozing soft cheeses, crisp baguette, and most importantly, chilled bottles of rosé, to feed over 30 students in our summer study group.  We would break from our day trip in the Burgundian countryside and assemble in a grassy meadow to feast.  It was a time to try new things, like Cavaillon melon from Provence, the quintessential stinky cheeses, the beloved French yogurt drinks in tiny plastic bottles, and obviously, fresh figs.  Prior to that, I had only ever had dried figs and Fig Newtons.  But fresh figs are a completely different experience -- in their color, flavor, and texture.  Every summer since that trip, I have hunted down fresh figs in Chicago (usually at Trader Joe's), and paid an outrageous price like $5.99 a pound.  However, last week at Stanley's, a local produce store, I found them for $1.49 a pound.  Unsurprisingly, I bought 3 pounds.  I neglected to consider that I was leaving town the next day.  What to do?  Make fig jam, of course.  Had I ever made jam before?  No.  Did I have canning supplies?  Not really.  Was I going to let my 3 pounds of figs go to waste?  Obviously not.      

I followed this recipe to make the jam.  Unlike other recipes I previewed, it didn't call for pectin or other ingredients I didn't have on hand.  Just 3 pounds of figs, 2 cups of sugar, and 1 lemon.  I used the juice of one lemon and omitted the lemon zest.

On the left, the bath of boiling water.  It took over an hour to boil that much water.  On the right, fig/sugar/lemon juice mixture cooking down.

 I followed the recipe's directions for cooking the jam and then canning it.  I was somewhat deterred by the canning paraphernalia this website said I needed.  A canner?  All I had was a large pot.  A jar funnel?  A spoon would have to work.  A jar grabber?  Oven mitt it is. 

After cooking down the figs, sugar, and lemon juice, I spooned it into Ball jars.  I did have these on hand because I like to use them for storage, and since I had never canned with them before, the lids and rings were good to go.  I didn't sanitize them because they had already been through the dishwasher. 

My large pot came with this giant basket.  I think it is supposed to be for draining pasta ... for a crowd.  I'm sure I'll put it to that use some day.  But for now, it is the star of the canning production.  I placed the filled jars in it, then lowered it into the boiling pot of water.

One of the websites said to make sure boiling water covered the jars by 1-2".  I boiled them for about 10 minutes.

At one point in the process, I felt like I should be wearing eye protection.  Lowering glass jars into boiling water?  What would happen if the jars knocked against each other?  Envisioning glass shards flying up in my face, I threw on my sunglasses.  They fogged up from the steam and their tinted lenses prevented me from seeing what I was doing, so I took them off. 

When the jars had boiled long enough, I carefully lifted the strainer out and placed it on a towel on the counter.

Using a hot pad, I lifted each jar out and let them cool on another towel.

One of the websites said you can check for canning correctness by pressing the top of the lid.  If it doesn't pop back, it's good to go.  My 3 pounds of figs made 3 jars of jam.  I'll be enjoying it on toast with almond butter ...