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South African Fig Jam
South African Fig Jam is a traditional South Africa recipe for a classic jam made from a blend of ripe and semi-ripe figs. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South Africa version of: South African Fig Jam.
prep time
30 minutes
cook time
75 minutes
Total Time:
95 minutes
Additional Time:
(+over-night soaking)
Makes:
2 x 450g jars
Rating: 
Tags : Vegetarian RecipesSouth-africa Recipes
Fig-based preserves, konfyts and jams are a big thing in South African cuisine. I like many of these recipes as they allow you to use unripe or part-ripe figs. This jam mostly uses semi-ripe fruit with a leaf infusion to beef up the flavour. This makes it great for those countries where figs may not fully ripen over summer. I typically add 2 fully-ripe black figs for both colour and flavour – but the majority of the fruit are semi-ripe ones.
This is something that can be made in the UK after a hot summer where you have or can forage fig leaves and semi-ripe figs. You just have to buy a few ripe figs in the shop to finish the jam.
Ingredients:
900g semi-ripe fresh figs
4 fully-ripe black figs
100g (1/2 cup) white granulated sugar
6 tsp (level) sea salt
250ml (1 cup) water
2 fig leaves
½ lime
Method:
Remove the stems from the sems from the semi-ripe figs. Place 2l (8 cups) in a large bowl and dissolve the salt into this. Pierce the figs all over with the point of a sharp knife. Submerge in the water, cover and set aside overnight.
The following day, remove the stem from the fig leaves, roll both leaves up tightly then slice into strips about 1cm (1/2 in) wide. Drain and rinse the soaked figs then chop all the fruit (ripe and semi-ripe). Combine the 100g sugar and 250ml water in a large pan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil, take off the heat and add the fig leaves. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes then pass through a fine sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract as much flavour from the leaf as possible.
Return the infused syrup to the pan, bring back to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add the finely-grated zest and juice of the lime half, followed by the fig pieces. Stir to ensure the figs are coated in the syrup.
Continue cooking gently over low heat for 40-50 minutes, stirring frequently. After about 30 minutes the figs should be soft and the jam will have started to thicken. At this point, use a spoon to break up the fig pieces. From this point forward you will need to stir constantly as the jam finishes cooking.
Traditionally, the jam is potted as is, but if you would like it smoother you can process with a stick blender. Divide between two jam jars that have been sterilized and warmed in a low oven. Wipe the mouth of the jar with kitchen paper. Secure the lid and allow to cool completely then store in the refrigerator until needed.
Once open, it will keep for several weeks.
