FigsJam

Fig jam

How fig jam is made, step by step, and the reasons behind each step. Where a page touches on food safety it points to tested sources rather than to us.

The jams we make

White, dark and mixed, each from a single morning's picking.

Shop preview

White fig jam

Made from green-skinned figs with pale amber flesh. Honeyed, gentle and golden, with lemon to keep it bright.

Coming soon

Dark fig jam

Purple-skinned figs cooked with their skins for a deep, berry-rich jam the colour of the fruit itself.

Coming soon

Mixed fig jam

Whatever ripened that morning, green and purple together. The everyday jar, and the one that tastes most like the…

Coming soon

Making jam

  1. How fig jam is made Figs, sugar, acid and heat. The whole process from picking to a sealed jar, and why each step is there.
  2. Selecting figs for jam Which varieties cook well, how ripe is too ripe, and why the split ones are the best ones. In preparation
  3. Preparing figs Wash, trim, cut, and the question of skins. In preparation
  4. Sugar in fig jam Sugar sweetens, sets and preserves. Cutting it changes texture and shelf life, not just taste.
  5. Pectin and fig jam Figs are low in natural pectin, so fig jam sets softly on its own. Whether to add pectin is a question of texture, not necessity.
  6. Acidity and fig jam Figs are a low-acid fruit. Adding lemon juice or citric acid does three things: brightens flavour, helps the set, and is required for safe canning.
  7. Texture Chunky preserve, smooth jam or fig butter: how cutting and cooking decide what ends up in the jar. In preparation
  8. Cooking temperature What the setting point is, why altitude changes it, and how a thermometer and a cold plate agree. In preparation
  9. Testing the set The cold plate, the spoon and the thermometer. Fig jam sets softly, so know what you are looking for before you look.

Jars and safety

  1. Jars and lids Mason jars, two-piece lids, sizes, washing and heating, and why we do not reuse lids. In preparation
  2. Canning fig jam Boiling-water processing for shelf-stable jam, following tested recipes. What we do, and where the numbers come from. In preparation
  3. Food safety and home-preserved figs Where our preservation guidance comes from, what we will and will not publish, and the sources you should trust over any blog, including this one.
  4. Storing fig jam Sealed and processed jars in the cupboard, everything else in the refrigerator, and how long an open jar lasts.

Our jams

  1. Jam, preserves and spread The words mean specific things on a label and looser things in a kitchen. Here is how we use them. In preparation
  2. Flavour combinations Vanilla, black pepper, orange, rosemary, port: what we have tried with figs and what worked. In preparation