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I am awash in black Mission figs. I know, this is not the worst problem to have, and I am ready for the hate mail from my Northeastern and Canadian friends. But still. Our tree is five years old now and has been popping out figs since late June; only then it was a few at a time, perfect for fresh eating.
Now it’s a dozen or more at any given moment. Holly likes eating them fresh, and so do I on occasion, but because figs tend to lack that acidic tang blackberries, elderberries or really most any other fruit possess, a really ripe one feels like eating a blob of figgy sugar.
So, the annual fig dilemma: What the hell am I going to do with all of these things? Wasting them is out of the question, and, oddly, our local birds seem to not have noticed this tree (Shhh!), so leaving them to the magpies isn’t an option, either. I am drying a lot of them this year, both to make the Greek fig cakes I love so much and to just eat as-is; they make perfect hunting snacks.
But that’s old hat now. So I thought about figs for a while, wondering what, in essence, is a fig all about? (Yeah, I know I’m a little crazy. Deal.) What I kept coming back to is that figgy blob of an overripe fig: It’s Nature’s jelly bag — pure sugar. A really ripe fig can hit a brix reading of 23-24, a sugar level powerful enough to make wine (hey, THAT’s an idea!), so why not just go with it?
I started with fig jam. This one is easy, and I like eating it. I make an odd fig jam, however, spiked with ouzo and cooked with bay leaves and a little salt. It makes a far more “adult” tasting sweet than typical recipes.
A few tips on making this: Chop your figs small enough so that the skins, which don’t break down completely, will be small enough so you can still spread the jam on toast. If you use it in a sweet-savory pan sauce (it would go well with venison or wild turkey), you also want everything chopped small so it looks good as a sauce.
Stir the bubbling figs often, or suffer the fate of burned figs on the bottom of your pot, which smell nasty, and can ruin a batch, not to mention your pot. This can happen very quickly once the water content of the jam is boiled down, so stay close.
I did not add any pectin to my jam, so it is pretty loose. I like it this way, but you could add pectin if you wanted. A final tip: Add some of the ouzo at the very end, so it retains some alcohol. Then feed it to your small children when they’re rambunctious. Calms ‘em right down…
I thought about making fig ice cream or sorbet, am was still mulling this when our neighbor Aleika offered to make some for us. Sure, why not? She did, and while it’s good, fig sorbet remains a work in progress. She added some Port to the sorbet — great idea — but for some reason it was not overly figgy tasting. And then there was the problem of the seeds.
Let me say for the record that I loathe fig seeds. OK, that’s an overstatement, as I don’t mind them one bit when I eat a fresh or dried fig. But I don’t like the gritty feel of them in the sorbet, and I like them even less in fig syrup.
Oh yes, I made fig syrup. Looks beautiful, tastes wonderful, but it is an absolute ball-buster to make.
Let me start by saying I do not make a lot of jams and jellies. My elderberry jelly did not set, and as a rule I don’t eat a lot of sweet things. So maybe there is a better way to make this syrup, and if you know of one by all means fill me in, as the process I used to get to this lovely garnet syrup was no fun.
First part is easy. Chop figs and cook down for 2-3 hours with some water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Tastes great, and would make a good fig jam. But a proper syrup should not have seeds. Ever try to strain out fig seeds before? They’re smaller even than strawberry seeds. Grrrr…
I started by running everything through the fine plate on my food mill, which has been getting a lot of use these days. That separated the skins, some pulp, and a few seeds. Then I tried pushing the figs through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth.
No dice. It was still way too thick, and it ruined the cheesecloth. Getting frustrated, I searched for my jelly bag. Oh yeah, that’s right, I don’t own a jelly bag. Sigh. I do own standard cotton undershirts, however, and so I cut out a big square of one and used that as my jelly bag.
Hanes did me proud. By squeezing and loosening the tension on the figgy mass, I got most of the good stuff out — and left those goddamn seeds in the shirt. Finally, I got out more cheesecloth and pushed the fig juice through a fine-mesh sieve.
Not done. I measured out the strained fig juice and added 2/3 its volume in sugar — normally a syrup ratio would be one-to-one, but figs are already sweet. I just eyeballed the ratio, and may have been able to go lower. Still working on it. I brought the syrup to a simmer and let it cook for 20 minutes to boil off some more water.
In the end, it was beautiful. But about five pounds of figs gave me two pints of syrup. Damn. The kicker? I have no idea what I am going to use this stuff in. I’m sure I can think of something, but I didn’t make fig syrup because I had a burning urge to make fig syrup. I did it to get rid of five pounds of figs.
Turns out you can buy an Italian version of fig syrup online. Who knew?
I went out to water my artichokes yesterday. They’re just now breaking dormancy and need a ton of water to grow fast if I want a crop by Thanksgiving. My artichokes live next to the fig tree, which I’d picked clean a few days’ prior so I could do all these figgy experiments. What did I see?
Sonofa… They just won’t stop. Don’t make me make fig syrup again, people. I need help with ideas to put up another zillion figs. Help!
MORE ON FIGS
- Simple Pleasures: Fresh Figs
- A recipe for sykomaitha, Greek fig cakes
- How to make fig jam
- Fig syrup recipe
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Buy Italian Fig Syrup Online:
Fig wine?
I’m curious how thick the fig syrup is, because if it could be a stand-in for maple syrup on waffles I might just go to all that trouble.
For more ways to use them – how about straight-up drying them? Of course, I actually *like* their seedy texture and if you abhor fig seeds then dried figs cause you more problems than anything else….
Nice one, Hank.
We forage figs on the Delta, and in picking a few pounds the other day, I looked up fig preserves, and found this at Bayou Woman:
http://bayouwoman.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/bws-whole-fig-preserves/
She keeps the figs whole, but cooks them a long time, so they still spread on toast, but look really nice in the jar.
Good stuff. I picked up a starter fig tree this winter in Connecticut from a family friend named Sebbi (who may or may not have brought back seeds from Sicily). It is loving the CA sunshine. We probably won’t see any fruit this year, but it is growing like a weed. I can’t wait to start harvesting next year.
I know you said you have dried them. You could dry more of them and put them in the food processor with dates and walnuts to make pie crusts with. Very tasty.
Figs are great with any kind of charcuterie. Wrap them in jamon, prosciutto, etc. Also they are very good with blue cheese. I generally eat them out of hand or add them to salads. Have you tried drying them?
Consider this part of your hatemail from the northeast, you bastard!
Alright, insane envy aside, those are some nice ideas and photos. A recipe that caught my eye a while back was the fig-anise sandwich rolls (or was it just a whole loaf?) in the book Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer. These looked horrifically delicious. Are you a baker as well?
Also, I love, love, love to halve or quarter fat figs, toss with a bare whisper of olive oil, set the fruits cut side up on a baking sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt, and broil those babies. Then you can eat them with greens and prosciutto and a good balsamic vinaigrette, or just smear them on a manhandled baguette with some soft goat cheese added. Divine!
Finally, there’s always fig clafoutis if nothing else comes to mind.
Christine, SHHHHHHHHH! If Hank starts making pies, I’ll weigh 400 pounds before you know it. But dang, that does sound good…
Amy, just the other day I was practically begging Hank to wrap some proscuitto around these babies and grill them for me. I believe it has to have some insane Hank twist before he’ll do something like this. Any ideas?
How about canning them whole in a boozy sort of simple syrup, then using them later for dessert or with meat?
If you’re going to eat them now, cut a cross in the blossom end, stuff with a bit of cheese, and grill, wrapping with grape leaves if desired.
My fig tree is sad now, hardly producing any at all.
My vote: make fig compote. Freeze it. Add it to porridge in the winter. Figgy Porridge. Voila!
Molly: The syrup would be a perfect stand-in for maple syrup, in fact, that’s the first thing I thought of when I finished it. That, and how much I needed bourbon…
Oh, and I mentioned that I dry figs in the post, so I have that covered.
Josh: I may give those fig preserves a try.
J.R.: You have two years. After that, you too will be in my predicament…
Christine: I am not a pie person. I am a passable baker, and while that does sound like an innovative pie crust, Holly is right — we’d be 400 pounds if I started making that many sweets.
Amy: I do that a lot with fresh figs. In fact, I may do that tonight.
Kate: What the hell is a clafouti?
Diana: I’ve been meaning to do the blue cheese-fig thing. Maybe I’ll go buy some Pt. Reyes blue and do it.
send them to me! no figs in Montana …
Fig and smoked duck breast pizza. Simply amazing. In fact, any combination of duck and fig is quite good.
I recently made a tart with an almond crust. I used fig jam I’d made but I’ve also made it with cut up fresh figs in place of the jam. Spread fresh goat cheese over the cooled tart shell, spread a thick layer of caramelized onions over the cheese, top with figs and arugula dresssed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Great this time of year!
I’m with Charlotte.
Amy’s on the right track: Put a nugget of chevre on top of a fig half (or use a whole fig and semi-quarter from the top down), wrap in prociutto, and pop ‘em on the BBQ. Divine.
My grandmother made pickled figs. There was a great leaning fig tree in their Sacramento garden. We had them often with the Sunday roast and always with holiday birds. I didn’t like figs, but I found these tasty.
Hank, clafouti(s) is the simplest dessert in the world, and thus, probably beneath you. Traditionally made with cherries with the pits in, it can be adapted to pert near any fruit. It’s just a mixture of eggs, flour, sugar, and milk/cream, plus fruit and a drop of some liquid flavoring agent (ouzo, vanilla extract, etc), if you like. If you make it with figs of different colors and sizes, cut in half with cut ends facing up, it looks very nice. Develops a nice crust if you do it in a cast iron skillet too.
Just one thought…I would think all the sugar in the fig jam would counteract the ouzo, when it comes to feeding it to the kids! Then again, if there’s ENOUGH ouzo…
Kate –
LMAO. But Hank’s actually pretty OK with simple (more than I am – I can’t stand a dish that takes less than 3-5 hours to make).
As long as he can put a Hank twist on it, he’ll be fine. But then we come to that whole dessert/400-pound blogger problem…
Awhile back we ate an amazing flatbread pizza at a restaurant that had some sort of cured porky product on it (I can’t remember if it was pancetta or ham) and fresh figs. It was so good. I’m going to make my own pizza tonight with a good ham and fresh mission figs. Maybe you can do some pizza?
Anyway, as everyone else has said figs + cheese + porky products = yum. Do you have any wild boar left? Maybe you could make a roast of some sort with cooked figs in the sauce?
My last suggestion is to figure out some kind of chutney. I’m thinking figs, onions, garlic, spices like mustard seeds and star anise. It would be sweet and savory and delicious on meat and fish
you have far more patience than I – that syrup sounds like a lot of work – worth it though I am sure, talk about fantastic color.
Fig syrup – that sounds so delicious! I bet you could use some to make a delicious homemade salad dressing, or really yummy sorbet!
I agree with islandexile. If you have a lot of figs pickling them may be a great option. I can think of several sweet things off the top of my head that either pickle well, or are great served with an acid (peaches with a good balsamic, pickled beets, etc.).
I won’t chide you for your fig problem (as you saw it coming), but I just have to say I’m nearly dying of envy over here. I grew tired of a diet of wild salmon as a kid so I understand that even luxuries can wear on you after awhile.
p.s. Thanks for your wonderful blog. I think (thinking still) that you’ve inspired me to learn how to hunt. Still scratching my head about the best resources to do so. My local community school doesn’t seem to have a class
… although wouldn’t that be cool?
” …so bring us some figgy pudding – We won’t go until we get some, we won’t go until we get some…”
Their behaviour was all the fault of the damn fool who made the fig wine.
Wrap them in prosciutto. Yum. Can one have too many figs???
I may or may not have had some homemade neutral “spririts” that had pieces or peach or other fruit floating in it. Eating the peaches was enough to do the trick. Couldn’t be a bad use for Figs……..
Brady
Allisen: Email me at hheyser@norcalcazadora.com and I can give you ideas and resources for getting started on hunting.
Fig leather!
have you ever had a lara bar? they’re often fig or date based, an excellent substitute for granola bars. they are nuts, figs, and, say, cocoa all ground up together. delish. i have wanted to make some myself, but haven’t got there yet.
Try roasting them with a tiny drizzle of honey or maple syrup (just cut an x in the stem end and add a little syrup), and serve them with natural yoghurt or unsweetened, thickened cream. For a more adult dessert, just swap the syrup for the favoured alcohol of your choice. Delicious!
Simple……dried fig and rosemary salami.
You could always drop off some figs at your local food pantry if you run out of ideas… or don’t have time to whip up a new batch of fig butter or fig ice cream.
Kevin: I like the fig-and-duck pizza idea. I may do a grilled pizza like that…
Lynn: LOVE it! Like a pissalladiere tart from Provence.
Islandexile: Do you have the recipe for pickled figs? Sounds interesting.
Mimi: Fig chutney could be fun. Need to figure out if I would actually use it though. I have made a lot of good canned goods I end up never eating. Hmmm…
Sam: Excellent idea for the fig syrup! Fig syrup, a splash of vinegar (verjus?), olive oil and a smidge of mustard to hold it together would make a great salad dressing.
Cleve: Fig leather, huh? Puree them and spread the mix on a Silpat and cook over a low oven. Might work…
Annie: Never had a lara bar, but I’m with you on the fried fig as snack thing. I just chew on them all winter. Filling and yummy in cold weather — such as it is here in CA.
Scott: Fig in salami? Honestly, I never thought about that. Have you made it? I’d think it’d be gritty from the seeds.
Lucky, lucky man!! The damn mockingbirds and squirles here in Texas get most of my figs from the back yard. It drives me nuts. I’m just thinking of shooting a few put them in a pie and get my figs’ worth back.
Dry the figs. Open and seed them. Rehydrate them in whatever booze or liquid you like. Beat them in the food processor with the liquid………no seeds, no pulp, just figgy flavor.
Bought a box of figs from Trader Joes a couple weeks ago… Bad call. They molded in like a day. Any recipes for moldy figs?
I have to fight squirrels, crows, and
raccoons for my figs. A good year
nets me a couple handfuls a day, but
never enough to use for anything else
than a quick snack. Still, nothing
beats a fresh, warm fig on a hot
August afternoon.
I just made fig preserves, but cooked ‘em higher temp. and in less time, therefore not getting the same look as that Bayou Woman idea. However, all the seeds make the jars look like tiny galaxies. It’s pretty, and the flavor is something special.
I love the sound of your fig jam, I hate overly sweet jams. Try my balsamic pickled figs w walnuts. They are brilliant w meat. http://www.putsup.com/2009/08/balsamic-pickled-figs.html. YUM YUM
Glad you’re getting a good crop! My mother and grandfather both have fig trees (over on the east coast) that haven’t borne much at all the last year or two I think due to a combination of bugs and hellish summer.
Generally I just eat them fresh or broil halved figs with a dab of brie or mild blue on top. I’d be inclined to try fig wine if I had enough fruit-in my time working in homebrewing one of my customers made a batch a few years going, (but never coughed up a sample)
I second the fig preserves idea. We use to make this at my aunt’s house every summer. Fantastic spooned over some vanilla ice cream! Also, I once came across a goat’s milk cheese stuffed fig recipe online that looked mouthwateringly enticing.
I like the savory with sweet conceits — fig preserves as a glaze for duck — fig halves broiled with a topping of caramelized onion, bacon, thyme, goat cheese. So delicious. But your figs are probably all gone by now!
I am sure that you all have tried the recipe adding strawberry jello to the jelly mix. It is hard to tell them from strawberry jelly then!!
I would suggest sharing with your neighbors. I live in California and we just planted a new fig tree early this year. We have just a handful of figs, not enough to satisfy our love of figs. I have a few neighbors in the area that have some trees and I have knocked on a few doors to see if they will sell me some figs. The response is always “please take as many as you want” at no charge. So find some neighbors that like them and share. One of the neighbors that shares figs with me also takes them to the nearest food bank. Today I’m baking fig muffins. Yumm!!!!
Just spitballing here, but I’m wondering about the chemical comp of the skins and seeds. Is there any reaction other than sustained heat that would break down the seed hull to make it less intrusive? What about sous vide? I have a violent itching reaction to figs (sap and leaves make me want to scratch off my skin), so largely gave them up, but have had good success with long slow cooking, which is what gave me the sous vide idea.
As far as the syrup goes: take a look at Christine Feber’s book on jam (Mes Confitures, available from Amazon). She uses multi-day techniques which soak fruits in sugar (with quick heat/cool cycles) to yield jams and jellies. Might be worth experimenting.
I make a fig jam that is a combination of a few recipes. I add balsamic vinegar and a sachet of peppercorns, which gives it a really nice bold flavor profile. I love the idea of using ouzo in the jam, maybe I’ll give that a try this year! My deluge of figs should be coming in the next few weeks…
Fig brandy is awesome! I soaked dried calimyrna figs in brandy for a week, strained and poured over crushed ice (adult icee!). It’s like drinking candy. I have some fig vodka in the works now…
Skewered figs:
Slice figs almost in half and stuff with goat cheese. Wrap with prochutto and skewer onto twigs of rosemary, leaves removed. BBQ until cheese is soft. Yum!