I have made this recipe TWICE with great success, as written:
Greek Fig Jam
Makes roughly 5 cups of jam
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
1 pound small, immature green figs, washed and patted dry
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon
Things I added (but you can leave them out with great success):
2 tablespoons fresh rose petals
1 teaspoon orange flower extract
pinch of sea salt
(I used only 1/2 cup of sugar and still found the figs to be quite sweet. Anywhere between 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar should be fine.)
Trim the knobby stalks off the figs and cut off any imperfections on the skins. Cut slits in the fig skins and allow to soak in water for 24hr, changing water twice (this helps the latex ooze away)
Put the water and the sugar (and the orange flower extract) in a heavy based pan and bring to a boil, stirring all the time. Stir in the lemon juice and figs and boil rapidly for about 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes (add rose petals), until the syrup thickens and the figs are beautifully tender.
Leave the figs to cool in the syrup, then spoon them into jar/lids/rings prepared for canning. Leave them to stand for a few days before eating them. You may wish to mash them for more of a jam consistency or keep them whole as I did.
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And I have made this recipe ONCE as written, the next time I make it I want to drop the sugar to 1 lb for every lb of figs because the jam was too sweet for me, but my family and friends loved it.
Fig Jam recipe
3 pounds of fresh, ripe figs
5 pounds of sugar
3/4 of a cup of toasted sliced almonds
A few drops of vanilla
Wash the figs, Cut them in fourths and then in fourths again. In a large heavy pan pour the five pounds of sugar over the figs. Cover the pot with a lid.
Let the sugar soak, melt into the figs. It is best to let it set for 24 hours. Do not put it in the refrigerator.
When the sugar has naturally melted into the figs, take the lid off and put the pot on stove. Turn the heat to medium high. Bring it to a steady boil. Stir often. Place lid back on the pot when not stirring. Turn the heat to low and stir until the jam thickens.
When the figs start to thicken, add the vanilla and the almonds. The jam is ready to put into the sterilized jars when it ripples off the spoon's edge.
Ladle the HOT jam into the sterilized jars. Tighten the sterilized lids on to the jars immediately, then place them upside down on a counter for at least 12 hours.
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And this one is what I hope to be making this week:
Baby Fig Spoon Sweet (Sikalaki Gliko)
Ingredients
2 pounds unripe figs (medium sized are recommended, as seed is just starting to develop)
3 pounds sugar
3 cups water
lemon juice (a couple of tablespoons)
cloves and/or vanilla (just guess!)
**See adaptation at the bottom to decide which recipe you want to make**
Wear gloves: Rinse the figs and poke a hole in each fig with a thick nail. This step will be a bit messy from the sticky latex oozing out of the figs.
I found that a small phillips screwdriver works just as well and is easier to handle. Okay, once you’re done poking the figs, put them in water and let them soak for a few hours. (overnight with 2 water changes is GREAT)
Next, boil the figs in plain water for 15 minutes.
When the 15 minutes are done, put the figs into cold water, then when they’re cool, drain them.
Dump the old water out of your cookpot, and and replace it with fresh water. Repeat the sequence of boiling the figs for 15 minutes, putting them in cold water until they’re cool, and then draining them.
Boil the 3 pounds of sugar with the 3 cups of water for about 5 minutes, then add the figs.
Boil the figs in the syrup for 15 minutes, then turn the heat off.
Leave the figs in the syrup for 12 hours.
Remove the figs from the syrup (and insert blanched almonds in a slit or two in the figs) and boil the syrup until it is thick.
Put the figs back in, along with the lemon juice, cloves, and vanilla.
Boil a few more minutes until the syrup is again well-thickened.
Put into clean jars and store.
Warning! The pot and colander you use will end up with sticky little smears of latex all over them. I had to scrub it off with scouring powder. I tend to think the latex would even defeat nonstick cookware and would be very difficult to remove without abrasives, so I suggest sticking with cookware that you can give a good scrubbing to.
Adaptation: Wearing gloves, peel a thin layer of skin off first of all. Just dissolve asvesti(pickling lime) with 1 litre of water and put figs in) add more water just to cover them and leave them for a hour. Rinse well, put them in a pot, cover with water and boil until soft. (You know that they are done, when piercing them with the screw driver or a knitting needle, they will fall from the needle). Drain them, add fresh water to cover them, add the juice of 3-4 lemons, and let them soak for an hour. Drain water.
Here is where you poke a hole in them (and you add the almond if you like). Place them in a pot, add sugar and let them rest for half an hour.
Then bring to a boil and simmer for fifteen minutes only. The next day bring to a boil again and when the syrup is thick enough they are done. Remove from the heat, add the juice of half a lemon and vanilla and stir. (If you prefer cloves, add them with the almonds). Let them cool down before storing in jars.