Whole Green Fig Preserve

Following my recipe for fig jam online, I was contacted by a very nice guy called John Titterton who said:

I noticed your blog update with the fig jam recipe and thought I would pass this recipe on to you. It is made using green figs - harvested just before they ripen on the tree. The preserved figs are best eaten with a nice soft cheese such as Brie or Camembert, but are also good with some harder cheeses. Maybe even a nice home smoked cheese and crackers!

The recipe was from my father, who used to make a few hundred bottles at a time and passed to me after his death. I make a batch every year if I am at home, but they do not last too long!

Regards,
John Titterton
Cape Town, South Africa.

Regrettably, the file he attached became corrupted when I lost a lot of my emails, and with one thing and another, it's taken this long for me to be able to put John's dad's recipe online.

Whole Green Fig Preserve

Ingredients:
100 green figs
2 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
3.4 litres water

Method:

Scrub the figs and cut a cross into the end opposite the stalk.
Mix the water and bicarbonate of soda and soak the figs overnight.
Remove from the water and weigh the figs, recording the weight.
Place into clean boiling water and boil for 15 minutes or until soft.
Drain and then dry the figs well, removing excess water.

Syrup:

For each 500g figs or part thereof, mix 500ml water with 500g sugar.
Boil the syrup until it just starts to thicken.
Add the figs and boil until the syrup is thick.
Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice for each 250g figs and just bring to the boil again before removing from the heat and letting cool.
Bottle the figs and cover with the syrup.

Note 1: If the syrup froths whilst boiling, add a small lump of butter.

Note 2: A small stick of ginger can be added during the boiling process to add a slightly different flavour.

Many thanks John.

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