Making Fig Jam

I spent a delightful morning yesterday, making fig jam and totally trashing my kitchen.  (It would have been less of an ordeal if my dishwasher wasn't broken ... new one on order ... washing dishes by hand until it arrives.)

My fig trees by the barn are producing a double handful of fruit every couple of days.  After three harvests, I had gathered enough figs to make a batch of jam.  (Figs can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, in a single layer in a covered container.)

The recipe:

5 cups chopped figs

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon butter

1 package Sure Jell pectin

7 cups sugar

Wash figs.  Remove stems.  (I also cut a small slice from the bottom of the fig.)

I used my ancient Cuisinart food processor to chop the figs.

This was way easier, faster, and safer than chopping the figs by hand.  Considering the incident where I sliced off the tip of my finger a couple of months ago, you can understand why I'm still a little bit leery of knives.  (My finger is fine now, thank goodness.)

In a large pot, cook the figs, lemon juice, water, and pectin until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.

Add the sugar all at once, and return mixture to a full rolling boil. 

Let it continue to boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Turn off the heat.  Skim off any foam.

Ladle jam into sterilized jars.  (This batch made ten-and-a-half 8-ounce jars of jam ... the half-jar went straight into the refrigerator.)  Process them in a water bath for 10 minutes or so.   As the jars sit on the counter to cool, the lids make a very pleasing popping sound as the jam cools ... which indicates a good vacuum seal.  Store any jars that don't seal in the fridge.

Now it's time to enjoy the fruits of a good morning's labor.  English muffin, warm fig jam, and a good cup of coffee.  Yum!

I'm using a lot of left-over paper party plates for now ... remember, the dishwasher is broken.

I have had store-bought fig jam before, but have never made it myself until now.  I am surprised how different the home made jam looks and tastes.  Home made is a lovely rosy red (not brown like store bought) and it has a very fresh taste that reminds me of strawberries.

You can bet that I will be out later this morning, gathering more figs to keep to make more batches of jam.  I should put up as many jars as I can while I have figs ... so we have enough for us for the rest of the year ... and enough to share with friends.

Sunday Snapshot ... Quince Jelly

There was a time, when my girls were little, when I spent summer and fall canning everything I could get my hands on.  The Husband and I would take the family on day trips following the seasons, doing pick-your-own fruit at various local farms and orchards.  I used the results of these harvests and would make jam, or canned fruit, or applesauce ... whatever was appropriate.

It has been a long time since I canned anything.  Kids grow, lives change, and so do routines.

Last weekend, at a garden luncheon, I was given a plastic grocery bag containing six fruits from the Chinese Quince tree, and a slip of paper with instructions on how to make jelly out of them.  

The recipe resulted in twelve jewel-like jars of jelly, and a house that smelled like it used to 'back in the day'.

There are a lot of conflicting recipes for Quince Jelly on the 'Web, and Quince isn't mentioned on the insert of the Sure Jell package, so I am reproducing the instructions I was given ... to have them here for others who may want to follow in my footsteps.  

Preparing the Fruit.

1.  Wash but do not peel 5 - 7 fruits.

2.  Cut in half lengthwise with stout knife, remove seeds with spoon.

3.  Cut in thin slices or small chunks.

4.  Put into a large pot and add water till you can see it through the chunks.

5.  Cover and bring to boil, then simmer till all is tender, stirring gently occasionally so all pieces are cooked.  (At this stage, I mashed the fruit with my potato masher and simmered it for a little while longer.)

6.  Strain through jelly bag or cheesecloth, letting it drip till the dripping stops.  Squeeze bag to get more juice at the end.

7.  You will end up with 6-9 cups of cloudy liquid.  Allow this to stand in refrigerator for a couple days and the solids will settle to the bottom of the container.

Making Jelly.

Ingredients:

7 cups of prepared Quince Juice

1 package of Sure-Jell fruit pectin

9 cups of Sugar

Boil juice and pectin in a large pot, stirring occasionally.  When fruit comes to full rolling boil, add sugar all at once, and heat till the mixture returns to full rolling boil.  Continue to boil mixture for exactly one minute, then remove pot from heat.  Skim foam from the top of the pot with a metal spoon.  Ladle jelly into prepared jars, and process in water bath for 5 minutes.

This jelly was DELICIOUS earlier this morning on a buttered whole wheat English muffin! 

I have a couple of cups of quince juice left over, and it may be great mixed with raspberries to make Raspberry Quince Jam.  I think I feel my old cooking/canning self coming back.