Fig jam

These last two weeks we have been talking about homemade jams, giving tips and tricks for their preparation and proper storage (you can see the posts here ). What better suggestion for today than a recipe to make your own jam? Patri, from the blog Sabores&Momentos , suggests it. It is made with figs and is ideal to combine with savoury dishes or to enjoy its delicious flavour spread on bread. Enjoy!

In the photo, Pallarès carbon steel knife , Bérard olive wood board and Le Creuset round cocotte

Oh, I almost didn't make it with this recipe, the fig season is almost over, but I'm sure that you can still find them in many markets, at least here I still see them in supermarkets and in the farmers' markets where I like to go to find the best tasting seasonal fruit and vegetables. The good thing is that, in reality, with half a kilo of figs, you can already make a couple of jars of approximately 200ml of jam. And it's a wonderful pantry staple to surprise our loved ones served with a good cheese board, with some fresh cheese or cottage cheese toasts or even to accompany a salad and give it that sweetness that gives it that special touch.

I love making my jams in my Le Creuset cocotte , because the slow cooking and the heat distributed thanks to the cast iron make the flavours intensify and our jam takes on a thicker consistency, which is how we like it at home. I have tried other ways and they always come out more liquid and less concentrated, so I remain faithful to my wonderful pot that I never part with and that I use more and more.

As for the amount of sugar, I never put the usual percentages of fruit and sugar in my jams, I always add much less sugar because at home we don't like things excessively sweet, although you should bear in mind that this reduces the shelf life of the jam once the jar is opened... I have to admit that at home this is not a problem, because once opened it flies away!!!

Today I bring you a simple, quick and easy recipe. It is a pantry staple but I admit that as I always say: use your imagination! You can add spices - cinnamon, cloves, fresh herbs... and you can even play with a touch of liquor. I'll leave that up to you.

Let's get on with the recipe, and I hope you like it!

Ingredients

800g figs (preferably black for their sweetness)
250g brown sugar (you can use white sugar or even half and half)
Juice of 1 small lemon
Peel of half a lemon without the white part

In the photo, Pallarès carbon steel knife and Bérard olive wood board

Preparation

We start by cleaning the figs well, removing the stems and peeling only those that have very damaged or thick skin. We chop them and add them to our cocotte together with the sugar, the peel and the lemon juice. I always like to let them marinate for at least an hour or two, as the flavours intensify and the lemon pectin acts as a thickener to achieve that thick texture that I like so much in jams.

Once the maceration time has elapsed, we put the cocotte on a low heat and let it cook for about 20-25 minutes. Bear in mind that this time is enough for this quantity, even if it still seems that it has not thickened as much as it should, because when it cools it will thicken even more.

Remove from the heat and remove the lemon peel. If you are one of those who are bothered by chunks, this is the time to blend it. At home we like chunks, so my jam is not blended.

We will have our glass jars ready ( the ones from the Kitchen Craft store -here- seal hermetically and come in a complete set) previously sterilized and we will fill them with jam up to one finger below the edge. If we want to store them in the pantry, we will simply create a vacuum by covering our jars well and letting them cool upside down.

Don't forget to write the packaging date and store them in the pantry, protected from moisture and light.