Fig Jam with Ouzo

This is an easy sweet to make when you have a lot of figs. I have a black Mission fig tree in my yard I planted in 2004, and it is getting large enough now that I am getting lots and lots of figs. Fig jam is wonderful on toast, and even better as a tart filling. It could even add a sweet note to a pan sauce for venison or wild turkey.

I add a little salt and bay leaves to this recipe to make it a little more complex. It is still sweet enough for a breakfast spread, but the herbal note from the bay lets this jam come into the dinner menu, too.

The citric acid adds a little zing to the jam, and it helps preserve it, too. You can find it online or through beer brewing shops.

Makes 3 pints

  • 4 pounds figs
  • Juice of two lemons
  • Zest of two lemons
  • 1 tsp. citric acid (optional)
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup ouzo
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  1. Zest and juice the lemons and set aside.
  2. Chop the figs roughly into small pieces. The skins of the figs tend to stay the same size no matter how long you cook them, so be mindful when you are chopping — you don’t want big hunks of fig skin in the jam when you’re trying to spread it on toast, do you?
  3. Add the bay leaves, salt, sugar, lemon juice and zest and half the ouzo to the figs and mix well. Let stand at room temperature, covered, for at least an hour but no more than five hours.
  4. Get a big kettle of water ready so you can can the jam when it is still hot.
  5. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and let this cook down for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how loose the mix was at the start. This makes a loose jam anyway, but you do want it to be spreadable. Stir the mixture often, otherwise the figs and sugar will fuse to the bottom of the pan and burn. Not good.
  6. When the jam is done, turn off the heat, wait for it to stop simmering and then pour in the rest of the ouzo. Stir to combine.
  7. Pour the fig jam into sterilized pint jars and seal. Process in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Remove, let dry and check the seals when the jam is cool. It should last at least a year.

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