Fig & Rosemary Jam

It’s the tail end of fig season, and I thought how lovely would it be to make a jar of fig jam. I have added a little fresh woodsy rosemary to enhance the floral flavor of the fig. A cinnamon stick for earthiness, lemon zest for brightness, and a hint of vanilla to enhance the sweetness.

My jam is sweetened with allulose instead of sugar. You, of course, do not have to make this sugar free. The recipe includes both options for you.

The fig is by far my favorite fruit. I can eat them till my hearts content! On my last summer trip to Kefalonia, Greece, my daily breakfast was lightly toasted crusty bread, buttered with a juicy fresh fig smashed on top of it. A simple yet decadent piece of heaven in your mouth!

Here in Los Angeles, I find the most ripe and tasty figs at the local Armenian markets. The ones at places like the standard supermarkets usually tend to have been picked too soon. Armenians and Greeks know their figs. When looking for figs, go to ethnic markets.

One of my late uncles had a small fig orchard on his property with various fig varieties. He would hand me a basket and allow me to fill it up with as many figs as I could carry in it anytime I visited him. You can imagine my happiness!

The type of fig my father grows is called avgousteles. They are named for the month of August, because this is when they are ready to be picked. They are a purple skinned variety, that grow dark and sweet. My last visit was in November of 2019, at the tail end of their season. The below photo shows the last few figs on that tree that had awaited my arrival back home.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of fresh figs

1 sprig of rosemary finely chopped

1 pinch sea salt

1 tbsp water

1/2 cup allulose (or 1/2 cup of sugar)

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Quarter the figs & remove stems. Add all ingredients into a medium pot. Bring to a boil & reduce to a simmer. Every so often, mash the figs with a potato masher. They will get softer as they cook down. Let it simmer for thirty minutes.

Because some of the skin didn’t break down small enough when I mashed them, I removed the cinnamon stick and pulsed it with my immersion blender. Added back the cinnamon stick and continued to simmer it. Total cooking time was 45 minutes.

If you are canning your jam before storage, then please follow directions for proper canning. It’s an easy google search. I only make small batches of jam, a jar at a time, because it’s only my husband and myself. A jar can last us a couple of months, unless I am using it in a baked good.

I boil water in a larger pot, and submerge my empty clean jar, and lid ring in the water for ten minutes to sterilize. Then I fill my jar, close the lid and once again submerge the jar into the water. Remove it from the pot. Let it come to room temperature and then place it in the fridge or on the shelf.

Enjoy it on anything that you love to eat with jam! I recently made baked Brie bites with a dollop of fig jam added before I baked them. They were wonderful!

Kali Oreksi!