Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Fig and Apple Jam

I made this jam after I'd purchased a large crate of figs right before going on vacation. Do fig freeze well? I didn't know and I didn't want to waste them because they were just so beautiful. I was heading up to visit the Dunworth family and I didn't want to show up totally empty handed. I thought a nice fig jam would get me out of diaper duty for at least the first day. It worked out! It turns out that doctors are to smart to leave their baby in the hands of a novice, so I was called in only for my two specialties: eating and snuggling. This jam is tart and full bodied, with a rich flavor that comes from the figs and the skin. I am convinced that leaving the skins on things makes them extremely healthy no matter what else I add to the mix. I added the apples because I had them on hand from my CSA. The apples balance out the rich figs and add a light freshness without being too sweet. I loved spreading this on toast with some butter or cream cheese. The ingredients are more of a ratio, rather than exact measures because you can make as much or as little of the jam as you want. This is a simple treat that makes a nice gift for friends and would be a unique holiday present.
Fig and Apple Jam
Ingredients:
2 cups figs
3 medium apples
2 Tbs. honey
2-3 Tbs. water

I very deliberately did not add any spices to this jam. I love spices, but I really wanted this to taste like figs and apples. I didn't want to mask their fall flavors with anything else.

1. Wash the figs and cut them in half.
2. Peel the apples (I didn't use all of these - I took two in the car for the ride up) and chop them up into about inch pieces.
3. Put the figs and apples into a sauce pan and turn the heat to medium.
4. Add the water and honey and cook, covered on your lowest heat for about 30-40 minutes until everything in nice and tender.
5. Allow the fruit to cool slightly in the pan before blending.
6. Put the fruit into a food processor and pulse into a chunky, jammy texture.
7. Put the jam into clean tupperwear and store in the fridge up to one month.

4 comments:

  1. And it was delicious! Thanks so much for bringing it up to us.

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  2. Is that a new food processor?

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  3. Miss you, def making this for xmas presents! xo

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  4. Wait, that's it?! I really thought jam was more complicated than that...

    (also I agree, leaving on the skin automatically makes it healthy. Example: peeled apples with caramel sauce = unhealthy; leave the skin on and it’s healthy! magic!!)

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