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    Home | Canning Recipes

    Fig Preserves Recipe {No Pectin}

    Dated: October 7, 2021 Last Modified: January 24, 2022 by Sarah Mock 3 Comments. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links.

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    Fig preserves are made with fresh figs, lemon juice and sugar is ready in 45 minutes
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    Fig Preserves in a jar

    Fig preserves are made with fresh figs, lemon juice and sugar is ready in 45 minutes. This easy fig jam recipe is the reason I planted a fig tree in my yard!

    Fig Preserves vertical image with a cutting board, fresh fig slices and crustini

    This small batch homemade fig jam recipe is perfect to serve alongside your favorite charcuterie and cheese boards, spread on fried goat cheese topped crostini, or bring another layer of sweetness to your favorite savory sandwich, grilled pizza or burger.

    The big fig season is short and lasts for the months of August through October, depending on your location. But the first or "breba" season is the first few weeks in June and those figs grow on the 'old wood' or the branches that survived the winter. The second, and usually larger harvest, or "new wood" season typically runs from August through October. 

    Jump to:
    • ✨ Here is why this recipe is amazing:
    • 🥫 Ingredients needed:
    • 📝 Ingredient notes:
    • 🥣 Helpful Kitchen Tools
    • 🔪 How to make this recipe
    • 🔄 Variations
    • Canning Instrucitons
    • ❄️ Storage Tips
    • 📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
    • 👩‍🍳 Chef tip:
    • More Jam Recipes:
    • Fig Preserves
    • Comments

    ✨ Here is why this recipe is amazing:

    • This simple recipe is the best way to enjoy juicy figs all year long!
    • Simple ingredients and step by step instructions will give you fig jam sucess.
    • Similar to preserved figs this fig spread but comes together faster than the preserved figs.
    • Use extra figs to make dehydrated figs.

    🥫 Ingredients needed:

    Ingredients for Fig Preserves in bowls with text overlays
    • Fresh figs
    • Sugar
    • Water
    • Lemon (juice and rind)
    • Salt

    Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

    📝 Ingredient notes:

    7 figs in a row showing progression of ripeness
    • Figs - use ripe figs that are soft to the touch and on the verge of being overripe.
    • Sugar - I use granular white sugar but for an unrefined sweetness, honey can be substituted in equal parts
    • Lemon - use an organic lemon for this recipe as you are going to be using the entire lemon in the jam. The pith of the lemon is a source of natural pectin so extra pectin is not needed in this recipe.
    • Salt - just a ¼ teaspoon of table salt is needed. It helps pull out the moisture from the figs and enhances the sweetness of the preserves

    🥣 Helpful Kitchen Tools

    • Canning Jars - Be sure they are canning jars. I use a 4 ounce Ball canning jar for this recipe. Feel free to use a quart jar or pint jars, whatever size fits your needs, however, keep in mind that a glass jar does not equal a canning jar.
    • Lids.- These can not be reused from batch to batch. Get new lids.
    • Rings - These are used to keep the lids tight to the jars are they process in the hot water bath.
    • Wide-Mouth Funnel - Great for getting your product IN the jar…not on the counter
    • Lid Wand - This is essential for safely getting the sterilized lids on the jars without burning your fingertips!
    • Ladle - Needed to get your hot recipe, pickling liquid or juice in the jars. (A heat-safe mug can be used in a pinch)
    • Clean Cloth - These are used to wipe the rim of the jar before the lid is applied.
    • Large Pot - A large pot that can accommodate canning jars PLUS 1-2 inches of water.
    • Tongs or Jar Lifter - ESSENTIAL for getting the jars out of the simmering water.

    🔪 How to make this recipe

    1. Wash the figs in cold water and trim off the stems. Remove any blemishes from the fruit.
      ripe fig open next to a less ripe fig cut open
    2. Slice the figs in half and then in quarters and place in a large pot.
      Fig Preserves ingredients in a pan
    3. Sprinkle the salt and granular sugar over the figs and allow to rest for 30 minutes to get the best results for extracting the juice from the fresh fruit.
      Fig Preserves ingredients in a pan, showing the moisture
    4. Add the lemon juice, lemon rind and water to the pot.
      simmering Fig Preserves in a red enamel pan
    5. Heat the fig preserves ingredients in the pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves.
      wooden spoon pulling back Fig Preserves in a pan showing how they are thickened
    6. Reduce the heat to low and reduce the jam for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (or until the syrup is thick and holds a channel when a spoon is pulled through it.)
    7. Remove the lemon rind from the pot.
      wooden spoon with fig preserves on it
    8. If the figs are particularly large, use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break apart the big chunks of figs. Fig Preserves in a 4 ounce mason jar with fresh figs, crustini and a spoon of jam
    9. Spoon into jars, allow to cool and store in the refrigerator. 

    🔄 Variations

    • Low sugar recipe - the amount of sugar you use will depend on how sweet the variety of figs is, the ripeness of the figs and your personal taste. If you want to reduce the sugar by up to half, be sure to replace the sugar with water or apple juice and make sure the jam reduces enough to thicken.
    • Fig preserves without lemon. - The lemon, including the lemon zest, will act as a natural thickener for the jam. You can omit the lemon if you wish. The jam may be more of a 'loose' spread but it will be just as delicious.
    • Additional flavors - add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a teaspoon of vanilla paste, 2 tablespoons of red wine or brandy, a sprig of rosemary or any combination of these additional flavors. Remove the rosemary sprig before canning the hot fig jam.

    Canning Instrucitons

    canning jars clean and ready to be heated before the canning process
    1. Prepare your hot water bath canner
    2. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace at the top of the mason jar.
    3. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rims of jars. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight.
    4. Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water in a boiling water bath, repeat until all jars are filled.
    5. Lower the rack into simmering water. Cover with enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch.
      jars added to the water bath canner
    6. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a full rolling boil.
    7. Process half pint jelly jars 10 minutes. (or 15 minutes if your altitude is above 6,000 feet)Turn off heat and remove cover.
    8. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose.
    9. Cool 12 hours. Test seals. Label and store jars.

    ❄️ Storage Tips

    Store fig preserves in the refrigerator for up to a month. If you choose to do the water bath canning method of preserving store those jars, once stored in a cool dark place, will have a shelf life of up to a year.

    📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:

    How do I not overcook the jam?

  • Using a candy thermometer, you’re looking for the jam to reach 220-225° F.
  • What kind of figs are best for jam?

    Black mission figs, Bourjassotte Grisé figs, Adriatic figs, Brown Turkey figs, Calimyrna figs will all work for jam. You may have to adjust the amount of sugar you use depending on the sweetness of the fig and the sweetness you like your jam.bowl of figs

    Do you remove the skin from figs for jam?

    When making jam it is not necessary to remove the skin from the fig but if you like your fig preserves to be smoother, feel free to scoop out the fig flesh with a spoon.

    👩‍🍳 Chef tip:

    • This recipe can be doubled or tripled. For best results, weigh the figs instead of measuring them in a dry measuring cup.
    • This recipe is an old-fashioned fig preserves recipe that only uses a wooden spoon or potato masher to crush the figs. I love this method because you get nice chunks of juicy figs in your preserves. But if you like a smoother jam, you can use an immersion blender after the jam has thickened to make it smoother or chop figs in a food processor before you start the cooking process.

    Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!

    click to visit my amazon store front as an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    More Jam Recipes:

    • Seedless Black Raspberry jam
    • Blueberry Jam
    • Peach Jam
    • Fig Preserves
    • Tomato Jam
    • Strawberry Jam
    • Hot Pepper Jam
    • Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
    Fig Preserves in a jar

    Fig Preserves

    Sarah Mock
    Fig preserves are made with fresh figs, lemon juice and sugar is ready in 45 minutes
    4.93 from 13 votes
    Pin Recipe Print Recipe
    Note From Sarah

    There is more to a recipe than just the recipe card. Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!

    Prep Time 14 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    Total Time 59 mins
    Prevent your screen from going dark, toggle to button to the right to turn GREEN
    Course Canning Recipes
    Cuisine American
    Servings 18 Tablespoons
    Calories 62 kcal

    EQUIPMENT

    Canning Jar Lifter
    Canning Funnel
    4 ounce ball jars
    Ball Preserving Starter Kit

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 pound figs (fresh)
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (plus the rind of the lemon)
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 cup sugardomino sugar.
    • 1 cup water

    Instructions
     

    • Wash the figs in cold water and trim off the stems. Remove any blemishes from the fruit.
      1 pound figs
    • Slice the figs in half and then in quarters and place in a large pot.
    • Sprinkle the salt and granular sugar over the figs and allow to rest for 30 minutes to get the best results for extracting the juice from the fresh fruit.
      ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 cup sugar
    • Add the lemon juice, lemon rind and water to the pot.
      2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 cup water
    • Heat the fig preserves ingredients in the pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves.
    • Reduce the heat to low and reduce the jam for about 45 minutes to 1 hour (or until the syrup is thick and holds a channel when a spoon is pulled through it.)
    • Remove the lemon rind from the pot.
    • If the figs are particularly large, use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break apart the big chunks of figs.
    • Spoon into jars, allow to cool and store in the refrigerator.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2TCalories: 62kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 33mgPotassium: 60mgFiber: 1gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 36IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 9mgIron: 1mg

    Nutrition Disclosure

    Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Sharing of this recipe to social media is both encouraged and appreciated. Please share the direct link back to the recipe. Copy/Pasting and/or screenshots of the recipe to any social media is strictly prohibited. Content and photographs are copyright protected. SavoringTheGood®

    More Your Ultimate Guide To Water Bath Canning and Canning Recipes

    • Canning Cranberry Juice
    • Canning Pizza Sauce (Fresh Tomatoes)
    • Preserved Figs In Syrup With Bourbon
    • Rhubarb Jam Recipe
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    About Sarah Mock

    Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 13 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. ANNIE G.

      September 17, 2022 at 2:56 pm

      5 stars
      Hello,I haven't eaten fig jam since i was 13 yrs. old i'm 56yrs old.Your recipe brought back so many good memories from my childhood. I'm so glad i found your recipe. Recipe for this jam came out perfect.This recipe has the same taste exactly how i remembered ,Thank you for sharing it.Have a blessed day❤

    2. Sarah Mock

      August 22, 2022 at 9:29 am

      Thank you for your feedback Sharon. I do know that different fruits have different moisture content and different people like different consistancies. I am glad you found something that works for you and I appreciate your suggestions for others.

      Sarah

    3. Sharon

      August 20, 2022 at 6:57 pm

      I like the flavor of the jam, but I think the recipe has too much water. It took over 2 1/2 hrs at a low simmer to reduce the jam to the appropriate consistency. Next time I'll try only 1/4-1/2 cup per pound of figs.

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    Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 13 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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