I Am Within: Fig Jam

Hi y'all! I was so excited when I was able to get figs the other day. My whole goal was to make fig preserves. I did a little search, copied down a recipe, made it, and was thrilled when it set beautifully. All was well until I had to really search (unsuccessfully) for a fig butter recipe. In that search, I discovered what I had actually made was fig jam. Sigh... heehee! All is well, though. :) It still tastes delicious and looks beautiful, so I thought I would share.

Fig Jam: yields approximately 7 1/2 half pints
4 c ripe halved figs
7 c sugar
1/2 scant c fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest from 2 lemons
1/2 t butter, optional
1 3oz pouch liquid pectin

Wash and dry figs. Remove stems and cut in half to equal four cups. Measure out sugar. Wash lemons, zest, and juice. Place figs, sugar, juice, zest, and butter in a large pot. Gently mash, leaving some larger pieces. Stir and bring to a rolling boil. Add pectin, and return to a boil. Boil exactly one minute, stirring constantly. Ladle into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.

Picture tutorial

Wash and dry your figs.

Remove stems and cut in half.

Measure out four cups. I measure as I go to not cut too many.

Wash lemons and zest two.

I didn't think I had lemons at all. I was relieved to find these four small
lemons in the forgotten bag at the bottom of the frig. The recipe calls for two,
but I used four since the lemons were so tiny.

Since my lemons were not organic, I didn't like the idea of using the zest.
I compromised and used the zest of two.

Squeeze the lemons to get a scant 1/2 cup.

Well...it said a scant half cup, right?? :)
You can use bottled lemon juice if you can't squeeze out enough.

Pour this in with the figs.

Measure out and add the sugar.

Place this mixture on low on the stove and mix until it comes together.

Once the mixture comes together, use a potato masher to gently mash some of the figs, but leave some larger chunks. Bring this mixture to a rolling boil. Please be advised! Use a large pan for this recipe! When it boils, it really rises. I've never had a recipe boil up like this one. I was worried my pot wasn't big enough. This recipe really popped up, too. Be careful of your arm over the pot not to get burned by popping jam. I couldn't even stop to get a picture of the full boil. I used the butter, but it didn't help.

Have your pectin ready and waiting to add as soon as the mixture reaches a rolling boil.

When a rolling boil is reached, immediately add the pectin and return to a rolling boil. Boil exactly one minute and remove from heat. This jam produced a lot of foam-the most I have ever had. Be sure to skim it off for a pretty jar presentation.