Southern Fig Jam recipe | Big Mill B B near Greenville, NC (2024)

Fig Jam with Less Sugar

Fig Jam is oh so southern and such a treat! This fig jam recipe actually uses less sugar than you’ll typically find,so that is good for every body.

• 2 1/4 pounds ripe figs* 4 cups prepared figs
• 5 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 lemon
• Zest from one lemon
• 1 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 pouch liquid pectin 1 ½ ounces use Certo NOT Ball)

• Sterilize the jars - you can do this in a dishwasher. Place jar lids in a metal bowl or pot and pour boiling water over them. Set aside.

• Start heating the water in the canner.

• Wash and drain the figs, handling very carefully. Remove the stem end from each fig and cut them in half. Mash the figs- I use a potato masher. You will need 4 cups of mashed figs.

• Measure 6 cups of sugar into a large mixing bowl. Wash the lemons and grate the peel from two of the lemons. You need about 2 Tablespoons of zest.

• Squeeze the lemons to get a ¼ cup juice. Remove any lemon seeds.

• Check the expiration date on the pectin, making sure that it is not out of date.

• Place figs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and butter in a large stainless steel cooking pot. Stir to combine the ingredients.

• Bring this mixture to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, stirring often.

• Add the liquid pectin and return to a boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for exactly 1 minute, stirring often. I count, "one-one thousand, two-one thousand" until I reach sixty. Then remove from heat.

• Ladle the jam into sterilized jars, wipe the tops to remove any jam. Place sterilized lids on the jars. Screw on the jar bands and hand tighten.

• Process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. Remove from the canner and place in a draft-free space. Do not move for 24 hours. Some of the jars will have sealed but others will continue to pop. I love that sound! If you see that a jar is not sealed, store this one in the refrigerator and eat it first.

• After you eat the preserves, be sure to save the jars and rings, they can be reused. The flat lids can only be used once to seal a jar.

  See Also

  The recipe for snowball cookies is a classic holiday treat.

Yield: 6-7 half-pint jars plus some for tasting.

* You will have to buy the figs at a farmer's market, grow them or if you are lucky a friend will share. I have never seen figs that were affordable in the grocery store. The last ones I saw in a Florida grocery store were $5 for just a few figs. Plant a tree!