Fig Marmalade

Ficus carica (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Living in the country means a lot of things to me, but mostly its learning a new way to live. Working closely with the seasonal food seems to be the key to happiness. The fig tree was bursting with fruit and begging to be made into a delicacy. This was my first attempt at making any kind of preserves and I am proud to say, I received rave reviews…mostly from my mom, but that still counts, right? Here is an overview of my fig marmalade experiment…next time I will actually write down exact amounts, but I encourage you to experiment and add any other seasonings you like. Some folks add brandy, cinnamon, cardamom… sky’s the limit!

Ingredients

• 15-20 Fresh Figs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 lemon
• 1 orange

Process

Wash the figs, remove the stems and cut them into halves. There is no need to take off the skins. Put figs into a pot and start simmering. Add the juice from the orange and lemons. The lemon juice acts as a natural pectin. Mince the rind of the oranges and lemons and add to simmering figs. Add sugar and continue simmering until you have reached a consistency to coat the back of your spoon. If you want a smoother texture use a “ricer” or strainer to smooth out the chunks. If you prefer the marmalade chunky, skip this step. Prepare your jars, fill them and then enjoy the fruit of your labor into the cold winter days when you need a jolt of vitamins. Fig marmalade is an excellent companion to local pecorino cheese or any cheese for that matter….Slather it on a pork roast or add a thin layer to a prosciutto panini. YUM!