If you're looking for something to do with an abundance of fresh figs, or if you're just looking to try something new, give this fig spread a try. You won't regret it -- pinky swear ;) I honestly can't get enough of it -- so good on toast or rice cakes, in breakfast porridge or nice cream, mixed into cheesecake fillings, or just with a spoon in hand. And super simple to make as far as jam or preserves go (and no refined sugar -- woohoo!).
I've also been seeing lots of fresh black mission figs at the grocery store lately and have been thinking up something to make with them. A gourmet fig jam I was recently gifted came to mind (it was very tasty, but full of sugar, so I couldn't enjoy much), so this was a great opportunity to put those beautiful little figs I've been seeing around to use and create a version of fresh fig jam I could enjoy.
And besides, a common question I get on this oldie fruit-sweetened fig jam recipe made from dried figs is "how can I make this with fresh figs? I have tons and don't know what to do with them" -- so here you go :) This spread is your answer.
The flavor here comes from a delicious blend of the rich sweetness of caramelized maple syrup and just the right amount of lemony tartness, and a blend of delicious warm spices, including curry powder, which subtly and surprisingly gives this spread the most amazing flavor.
P.S. This spread pairs really well with fresh pistachios -- I loved sprinkling them on top (or just mixing them into the preserves). Consider yourself warned -- once you start adding pistachios into the mix here, you won't be able to stop! :)
Fresh Fig Preserves
This super simple fresh fig spread is refined sugar-free and amazingly good on toast or rice cakes, on its own, or mixed into cheesecake fillings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 1.5 cups
- Category: Spreads
- Method: Cooked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1 lbs fresh figs (I used black mission figs), de-stemmed and rough chopped
- 1 cup maple syrup*
- juice of 2 lemons
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp curry powder**
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cardamom
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium high-heat, stirring occasionally. Then lower temperature to medium-low and cook for 20 mins, stirring frequently, to allow the mixture to caramelize and reduce.
- Remove the pot from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer into glass jars*** and store in the fridge until ready to use.****
Notes
*I used mostly amber maple syrup (¾ cup) here and about a ¼ cup very dark maple syrup, which added a slightly deeper flavor here. Any maple syrup will work just fine, but if you can use a darker grade all the better.
**The curry powder I used is a mix from Simply Organic, which contains the following ingredients: Organic Coriander, Organic Turmeric, Organic Mustard, Organic Cumin, Organic Fenugreek, Organic Paprika, Organic Cayenne, Organic Cardamom, Organic Nutmeg, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Cloves. Many curry powders are different in their contents, but if you can find a mix similar to this, that would be ideal.
***The mixture makes about a cup and a half of preserves, which fills about 1.5 of the jars pictured.
***Storage notes: I recommend keeping this spread in the fridge for up to a week. It can also be frozen for later use (just make sure to only the jars ¾ of the way if planning on freezing so that they don't burst as the mixture expands while freezing).
Lyn says
Having had a plethora of figs this year was looking for some new ideas...this was a homerun!!!! BTW pureed and then dehydrated is an unbelievable fruit leather ;-)
I did change a few quantities trying to get that great flavor with less carbs and it too was delicious. Only used 4oz of dark maple, 1 1/2 lemons (quite juicy) then once a little cooled added 1/4 tsp of vanilla bean paste. No issues at all getting deep rich flavor/perfect texture.
Now I just have to get it canned before eating it all myself!!!!!
The Real Person!
Hi Lyn, thanks for sharing your version -- I love the sound of the vanilla bean paste in there. I'm glad this recipe is helping you try something new with your figs :)
Chia says
Hello from Sardinia, I love this recipe 😊. I substituted the maple syrup for 1/4cup local eucalyptus honey because I didn't have anything else not even sugar. And it turned out really good. I love all the spices that you include in this recipe so it was perfect for my taste.
The Real Person!
Hi Chia, thanks so much for sharing your substitution and for your lovely feedback. Glad you found a way to make the recipe work for you! :) Enjoy it!
Sheila says
This is Sheila from Atlanta. I used 5 pounds of fresh figs picked from my neighbor’s tree, followed the recipe but only used 2 cups of dark maple syrup and 2 cups of sugar free syrup instead after I read Penny’s comment. I cooked it for over one hour over low heat but it’s not thicken up so I used 2 oz of fruit pectin to thicken it up and it worked.
The Real Person!
Hi Sheila. Thanks so much for sharing your experience and swaps. I'm guessing the much larger quantity of fruit and the reduction of sugar contributed to things not reducing as per the original recipe, but I'm really glad the pectin addition did the trick. I'm sure it'll be helpful for others who are looking to use less maple syrup in this recipe in the future. Enjoy it! :)
Rebecca Moody says
Excited to try this recipe, as my neighbor just gave me two pounds of figs! Could I also can this recipe so that I can store it in my pantry?
The Real Person!
Hi Rebecca, yep, it's definitely an option if you follow proper canning instructions of course.
Penny says
Making the preserves right now. But they are not reducing. It’s been cooking 35 minutes so far . Do I just continue until it reduces? Sorry first time making preserves.
The Real Person!
Hi Penny. Since you left the comment yesterday and I'm only catching it this morning I'm imagining you're already done making the batch by now. How did it turn out in the end?
In terms of the jam not reducing, 2 questions: did you alter anything in the recipe in ingredients and quantity? (important for me to know to figure out what might be happening). And also do you mean the whole contents of the pot seem relatively unchanged (if the latter is the case I suspect the heat isn't strong enough potentially, in which case I'd up the temp and bring everything to a light boil and let it continue simmering longer). If you share more about what you did and what you observed happening in the pot I'd have a clearer picture to see what was going on in there to troubleshoot for future batches.
Anne Lee says
Hi Audrey
Here is Sunny South Africa we have an abundance of figs. We also have maple syrup, which is very very expensive here. Could I use honey instead of the maple syrup?
The Real Person!
Hi Anne Lee, lucky you to have an abundance of figs!! :) You can use another liquid sweetener if you wish, just keep in mind the flavor and potential texture differences. Maple syrup is sweeter and typically more runny than most honeys, so you'll need to adjust your amount of sweetener to taste.
Adele says
How much of the Simply Organic mix should I use instead of individual spices for the Fresh Fig Preserves?
Thank you!
Adele
The Real Person!
Hi Adele, I used all of the following spices for this:
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp curry powder (from Simply Organic)
⅛ tsp allspice
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cardamom
⅛ tsp ground cloves
So you'd still need the remaining spices in addition to the Simply Organic mix. I just added that note to explain what's in the Simply Organic mix so that if that specific brand is not available, then someone can find a curry powder mix that's similar ideally.
Enjoy :)
Sam says
Made this a few days ago and I've been having it on my breakfast toast, thanks for sharing!
The Real Person!
That's awesome -- so glad you're enjoying it! :)
Karen says
I am looking forward to making this recipe & combining it with my first attempt at spelt sourdough! Always love your recipes!
The Real Person!
Sounds delicious. I hope all goes well with that sourdough! Enjoy :)
Mary says
This sounds quite lovely! Look forward to making it soon-except here in the Pacific Northwest, it's not warm enough for long enough to ripen figs enough! Now that it's October, the half ripened figs on the tree will get no riper. Do you think they can be used anyway; afterall, green tomatoe are made into pies? I don't know if the fig constituents are edible when half ripe. Any advice? Btw, I made your cashew butter caramel swirl ice cream. Everyone really loved it. It's a bit sweet for me so I'll try it again with out maple syrup, just creamy dates. I finally like carob and love it's fudgeyness. Great ice cream. Thanks for creating and sharing it.
The Real Person!
Hi Mary. Apparently figs continue to ripen when picked so long as they're picked once some ripening has been initiated. That said, like the green tomatoes you mentioned, unripe figs are often used in preserves and such as well, so you can totally make something like this with them. The flavor will probably be a bit different, but still delicious I'm sure. I've made amazing green tomato chutney before using a similar recipe so I think green figs will work great here too. I've never cooked unripe figs before (they're not common here) but from what I've seen around they usually need to be peeled and soaked first in a solution of baking soda (or brine, lime, etc.) to get rid of the latex, or sometimes boiled, etc. Though I've also seen recipes around that just use the figs straight up so I'm not sure if it's essential or not (I'd research this a bit more first to be sure).
I'm glad to hear the caramel swirl ice cashew butter ice cream went over well! :)