If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, it is likely that you have seen how figs are overtaking my life right now. Our huge black mission fig tree is producing so much fruit. I love it. I have been getting quite creative with the figs; making pizzas, muffins, cakes, smoothies, adding them to salads and more. Fig season begins as early as June in some areas and it can run as late as October. My tree didn’t really start producing until mid August, but given how much small unripe fruit is on there, I have a feeling that I am going to have figs for quite some time. Yay!
Figs are quite perishable so I have been doing everything I can to use them up as quickly as I can. Stored at room temperature fresh figs keep for about for 1-2 days or 2-3 days in the fridge. Besides what I have been using in recipes, I have been freezing them whole and even dehydrating some so I can enjoy them in the off season, still. Look for lots of fig recipes over the next few weeks, I am loving having so many to play with.
Besides being delicious and so beautiful, figs are a wonderful source of calcium and dietary fiber. Figs have the highest amount of calcium of any fruit. Just 1 cup of figs has as much calcium as a cup of milk. Figs are also a good source of iron, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins, as well as vitamin K.
Enjoy this honey fig jam spread on your favorite toast or cracker, with a cheese board, on top of oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream or granola, etc. My favorite way to enjoy it is on top of toast or a cracker that has been spread with thin layer of fresh high quality goat cheese. Fig, honey and goat cheese might just be one of the most heavenly flavor combos in the entire world.
You can also have some fun with this jam recipe and creating other fun flavor combinations, too. Try adding some balsamic vinegar or grand mariner, lots of orange zest instead of the small amount of lemon and maybe some spices like ginger, cinnamon or cardamom, etc.
If you are into canning and preserving, sterilize your jars, get your water bath going at the end and do your thing. I honestly still haven’t experimented with all of that, so I cannot offer any solid advice on the canning part, but this recipe would be just perfect for preserving.
[print_this] Fig Honey Jam
makes about 3-4 cups of jam
- 2 lbs fresh figs, washed, stems removed and cut into quarters
- 1 1/2 cups honey (I used local raw honey, in it’s liquid state)*
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
Place the figs in a large saucepan, add the honey and water. Let sit (unheated) for about 20 minutes.
Over a medium-high heat bring the mixture to a boil, boil for about 2 minutes, then bring it down to a simmer. Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour at a low simmer. Stir quite often, you don’t want the honey to burn.
The figs will start to break down as that time goes on and you can continue to mash them up a bit with a potato masher if you’d like. I leave a few of the big chunks, but not a ton.
Add the lemon juice and the lemon zest. Stir and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the jam to cool a bit. Then ladle it into your clean jars. Place the lids on and allow the jam to cool before placing it in the fridge.
This jam will keep for about 3 weeks to one month, refrigerated.
*If you are concerned about it, you can try adding the honey at the very end with the lemon juice and cook for as little time as possible, to preserve as many of the healthy benefits of the honey as you can.[/print_this]
32 Responses
Yum!! I love figs, it must be so awesome to have a tree and so many to work with!! This jam looks awesome, I have bought fig jam before and it is so delicious, but I love the idea of making it yourself so you can control what goes in it!! I can’t wait for more fig recipes 🙂
I love them, too! Thankfully 😉 Lots more fig recipes are coming, I am actually overwhelmed over here, haha!
Hi,
Just found your site TODAY! Will be making and “canning” the Fig Honey Jam….Let you know how all works out. Wish I knew of you when I still had my lovely Saanan Doe? Karen
This looks so good!!! It’s pretty silly that we both posted jam today.
Oh what a beautiful beautiful recipe and such lovely pictures, always such a treat. Thank you dear girl for sharing this perfect post!
I’m super into figs right now. I’m kind of (totally) jealous of your backyard bounty! I made a really similar fig jam the other week with raspberries… why does Summer fruit have to end?!?! I’m not ready.
Looks delish! I have never tasted a fig(at least I think I have not) Do you peel them before you eat them? Thanks for the recipe.
Janet, get thee a fig. STAT! 🙂 Nope, no need to peel. Just wash them, cut off any stem and eat them skin and all. So yummy.
Is there ANYTHING better than fresh figs? I’m a total whore for ALL summer fruit in season, but figs have such a special place in my heart/belly. Are your figs as delicious as they look??
Your photos are beautiful – just like those figs. Can’t wait to make this to go with a cheese tray!
HI,
JUST LOVE EVERYTHING YOU MAKE. I LIVE IN SAVANNAH GA AND HAVE A FIG TREE AND TRY TO GET THE FIGS OFF BEFORE THE BIRDS EAT THEM, THEY ARE SO GOOD, NOW I CAN MAKE JAM I AM SO HAPPY. LOOKS GOOD THANK YOU
Looks amazing! I’m on a total fig kick at the moment and can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome, I hope you love it as much as I do, Zoe! Thanks.
[…] you want to make your fig jam without sugar, try this recipe for Honey Fig Jam from Tasty Yummies. If you want to try these cookies with a dried fig jam, here’s a recipe from The Kitchn. For […]
[…] Fig Honey Jam – Tasty Yummies […]
I LOVE figs and have always wanted to try fig jam….do you think this would freeze?
I think it should freeze just fine, Nan. To be honest though, I don’t do a ton of freezing myself so I am hardly an expert on the topic 😉
Have you thought to preserve/can this for increased shelf life? Just starting canning some things and wonder how this would work. I don’t wanna make jams with white sugar!
I haven’t done any canning or preserving yet myself. Maybe someday. But I am sure this would work just fine to be preserved.
I haven’t try this recipe, but I had done others and I closed it good and it holds for a year
Made this the other day, tried it last night, it’s delicious!! I used an immersion blender in mine, because I’m more of a smooth jam kinda girl, and it came out really well. I spread it on crackers with some blue cheese, and look forward to making fig jam vinaigrette soon!
Can you put it in a water bath to can it so it will last all year?/
I put in a water-bath canner…..Karen
Can I substitute dried figs and still use the fresh fig jam recipe with changes?Karen
i live in Cyprus and would love to make jam without sugar. But that’s a lot of honey – and I have 5 lbs of fruit cut up and ready to make into jam. I too have dried them (the small ones in the sunshine) but find they don’t dry quite enough so i then put them into the freezer and they defrost fine. But fresh figs go mushy if you try to freeze them. I even tried coating them in chocolate and freezing them. But they are still mushy.
Why the need to boil the fruit for such a long time, thus possibly reducing the vitamin benefits etc , when “jam” is only going to be stored in fridge for 3 weeks.
Boiling it down, it what breaks it down to be more jammy. If you want to cook it for less time, that will work, it will likely just be a bit chunkier and less jammy, is all.
Thanks for sharing this as I have a very happy fig tree this year and am beginning to swim in figs. This is jut what I was looking for. Any clue about how many figs make up your 2 lbs of figs? Enough to fill a 3 quart pan or half a store plastic bag full? Thanks
Cathy
how long is this good for in the freezer?
I am not sure, I haven’t attempted to freeze it, personally. I would guess at the minimum, several months.
Hi!! I’m making this recipe for my dad. We vacation are in Greece often and he picks so many figs (buckets!) and tries to eat all the them before we fly home. This would be a great way for him to take them home with him! My question is, do you peel the figs?
Thanks!
That sounds amazing!! Nope, I don’t peel the figs!