I know this might not sound normal but I do LOVE my fig tree. It loves me back with an abundance of green figs followed by the sweetest, syrupy ripe figs from mid January until the last pickings on Valentine's day every year. The last 3 years I have had to watch as it endures the drought and still spoils me with fig gifts even though it looses almost all its leafs in the process. It is Valentine's day today and I have picked my last figs. Just enough for one batch of jam which I'll spoil my proper Valentine with later...with some freshly baked farm stall bread and butter
1kg ripe fruit, washed carefully, not dried
750g sugar (I prefer castor sugar)
25ml lemon juice
1. Cut or break the softly sun-ripened fruit in rough quarters.
2. Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir to combine. You can also layer the fruit and sugar and let it stand , covered, overnight.
3. Heat slowly and stir to dissolve all the sugar before the jam starts boiling. Boil the jam at a steady speed, not too slowly, to ensure a light golden colour. Stir just enough to prevent the jam from burning.
4. Test for readiness:
- Spoon a little jam onto a chilled plate. The jam should set.
- Chill some jam in a spoon. It should drop off in a thickish mass rather than run off the spoon.
How to sterilize jam jars easily:
1. Wash and rinse jars and lids well.
2. Place them, all wet, on a baking tray in the oven set to 100 °C and heat for 15 minutes.
3. Use the jars as hot as you can handle. Remove all excess water before bottling.
How to get sun-ripened figs without the birds feasting too much you would wonder?
My secret: Organza bags...I wrap each budding fig in organza. I buy them in bulk from Super floral and the bags are ever so easy to manage. The birds do get clever at the end of the season, but I still have a good crop each time. Besides, my fig tree loves being dressed up in fancy pink.
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