I'm considering making some fig preserves and doing a fair amount of reading and I believe that everyone would be well-advised to do some reading before making your own, particularly if not using a pressure cooker.

Figs are a low acid fruit so risk of botulism exists.  Some say that figs have a pH of slightly over 4.6 but I've also read in a jam cookbook I purchased a couple of years ago (The Jamlady Cookbook) that the pH is possibly even higher, like 5.05-5.98.  The Jamlady Cookbook suggests the addition of 1 lemon for 4 pounds of Black Mission figs to attain adequate acidity.

The author, Bev Alfeld, writes a column for the CRFG's Fruit Gardener magazine and spoke at the 2011 Festival of Fruit. I attended her talk and found her somewhat annoying but she sure seemed to know her stuff.  She strongly advised that you either use a tested recipe or buy a pH meter and do your own testing.

Thanks for the reminder! If you research any number of recipes, most of them do call for the addition of lemon/lemon juice. I guess it is more agreeable than say, cider vinegar or white vinegar. ewwww!

Use lemon and and put the jars in the icebox to keep much longer than those on the shelf. Once opened and non sterile knives and spoons are used to scoop them out they tend to mold within a matter of a month or so.

I have more figs than refrigerator space.  The point of my post is to make sure to attain adequate acidity.  Using "some" lemon is not sufficient.  I will use 1 large lemon with 4 pounds of figs.

This recipe is from Galgoni's website no lemon juice but it looks good too

http://www.galgoni.com/ENG/Receptes/Melmelada.htm

A recipe I got from a jar of spanish Fig Jam is:

1 KG figs
860 grammes sugar
Juice from lemon

Cooking instructions are the same as the galgonis recipe.

Justin makes a good point as this is what has happened to be with fresh fig jam as well.

I know this doesn't answer food safety concerns but they are the recipes I know of for what they are worth and if you were concerned I am sure you could pressure can them.

Good to know. Thank you. I somehow knew the lemon juice was for more than flavor.

Gramaley, thanks.  Jamlady has the USDA guide referenced in her bibliography.  I can't find anything in her cookbook about it, but she cautioned about the 1/2" head space when I heard her speak.  Because of the unusual shape of some jars, she strongly advised in measuring jar volume and then using a percentage fill method.  I think she said to have head space at 5% but I can't find my notes right now.

She had also mentioned citric acid during her talk but since I can't find my notes I don't know how much to use and don't know that I want to buy a pH meter right now.

I adding sugar to a recipe it will increase the pH so it would also increase the need for lemon juice or some other source of acid.

Harvey,
I have added whiskey in the past........'amazing' I was told to whom I gave jars to.
Yummy....Very Yummy.

From what I gather recipes with high amounts of sugar do not need to be acidified because the sugar makes the water in the jam unavailable to pathogens.

On a gross note, citric acid is not from any type of citrus, although it does occur in lemons etc. It is made from sugars that are fermented by a type of mold called Aspergillus niger. It can cause problems for people who are allergic to mold spores because they cannot all be removed from the final product.

Learn something new everyday....just always assumed it came from citrus.   Here the citric acid is mainly used as an add in to the salt for water softeners, in case someone is looking for a source.