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This time of year (if I get the chance) I make jams, marmalades, and various chutneys, both laying up for Christmas but also to give as gifts to my Muslim friends for Ramadan and Eid.
This recipe is my adaptation of a traditional Iraki recipe and is a firm favourite in my household (and now in Du and Erdla’s.) When my wife died I discovered that being a single parent was incredibly time consuming — it simply wasn’t practical to spend most of a day in the kitchen making jams and pickles.
Enter the microwave.
After lots of failed burnt sticky experiments I developed a repertoire of jams. My criteria were:
- They had to take at most 90 minutes from start to finish.
- They had to be palatable to Du, his siblings and friends.
I’ve adapted this recipe for American measurements.
- 2lbs ripe fleshy figs
- 12 ounces liquid/runny honey.
- 4 Tablespoons of lemon juice.
- 2 Tablespoons of Rosewater.
- 2½ Cups jam sugar (sugar with pectin)
Method:
- Top the figs.
- Coarsely chop the figs.
- Put the coarsely chopped figs, the honey, the lemon juice and the rose water into a LARGE microwave proof bowl. One that holds at least 16 American measuring cups is the right size.
- Cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 5 minutes.
- Remove and stir thoroughly.
- Cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 5 minutes.
- Remove and stir thoroughly.
- Stir in the sugar, cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 4 minutes.
- Remove and stir thoroughly.
- Cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 4 minutes.
- Uncover and reduce the power to 550 or 600 Watts and cook for 25-30 minutes stirring 4 times. When stirring make sure to scrape down any crust back into the mix.
- Allow to cool to luke-warm.
- Ladle into jars and let get cold.
Optional Steps For Grandparents:
- (Optional Step 1:) Allow grandson to get his paws on bowl and spoon.
- (Optional Step 2:) Marvel at the speed with which grandchild licks clean bowl and spoon.
- (Optional Step 3:) Remove sticky child from kitchen, place in bath full of warm water, hand over soap, and close door firmly.
13 Comments
I think I’ve got the measurements right for American measurements. But just in case here are the measurements in Metric:
1. I kilogram ripe fleshy figs-
2. 350 grams liquid/runny honey.
3. 60 ML (4 Tablespoons) of lemon juice.
4. 30 ML (2 Tablespoons) of Rosewater.
5. 550 grams jam sugar (sugar with pectin).
Rosewater makes this special but if you don’t like the taste you can substitute orange flower water instead.
mfi
Thank you. Handing on recipes is handing on appreciation of cultures, especially when wrapped in family stories.
I am so glad you have shared this more widely – I am off to the market to get figs so I can make a batch here as well.
Delish!
It’s amazing what you learn in a kitchen :-)
Enjoy :-)
Thanks Mark! This looks delish and I am definitely making some this weekend. Best to you and the whole fam.
Just a suggestion for those who may have access to the luxury of a bread machine. My Breadman machine has a JAM setting, can simply toss all the ingredients in and walk away until it’s done, although I do find I need to give it a little scrape with my spatula at least once to ensure the sugar has all been incorporated and not stuck to the sides. [edit: would have to check the “bowl” of the breadmaker to see if it can do a fractional batch of the fig-sugar mixture, though; I think mine could do a half-batch.]
I wonder what this recipe would taste like with vanilla and a tiny bit of lemon zest instead of rosewater?
And I wonder if I could do this in a crockpot like my apple butter?
Looks like I have some opportunities to experiment.
Thanks, Mark!
It tastes very nice but it’s a slightly different recipe:
1. 1½lbs ripe fleshy figs.
2. 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice.*
3. 1 Teaspoon vanilla essence.**
4. 3 Cups jam sugar (sugar with pectin).
*If you want a more pronounced lemon flavour add the juice and finely grated zest of a largish lemon. In addition to the lemon juice.
** Figs and vanilla have a wonderful affinity but I’ve found that more than a teaspoonful full was too much. I also don’t buy the best and most wickedly expensive vanilla for this. Bog standard essence does the job nicely.
1. Top the figs.
2. Coarsely chop the figs.
3. Put the coarsely chopped figs, the honey, the lemon juice and the rose water into a LARGE microwave proof bowl. One that holds at least 16 American measuring cups is the right size.
4. Cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 4 minutes.
5. Remove and stir thoroughly.
6. Cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 4 minutes.
7. Remove and stir thoroughly.
8. Stir in the sugar, cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 4 minutes.
9. Remove and stir thoroughly.
10. Cover and microwave on 750 or 800 Watts for 4 minutes.
11. Uncover and reduce the power to 550 or 600 Watts and cook for 25-30 minutes stirring 4 times. When stirring make sure to scrape down any crust back into the mix.
12. Allow to cool to luke-warm.
13. Ladle into jars and let get cold.
You probably can do it in a slowcooker. However I never have and refuse to speculate – so you’ll just have to experiment and let us know the results :-).
For 3 read
3. Put the coarsely chopped figs, the lemon juice and the vanilla essence into a LARGE microwave proof bowl. One that holds at least 16 American measuring cups is the right size.
Oh wonderful, thank you!! I make my own vanilla essence, have a batch which isn’t too strong which would be perfect for this. I think I’d like just a hint of lemon, so I might skip the juice of the lemon itself, adding only the original 2 TBSPS. and a pinch of lemon zest per half-litre jar.
About how many litres/half-litres does your 2 lb. recipe produce? Will tell me how much zest I need to prep.
I think I might try making a strudel with this…yum!
My mother said that some jams always scorch. Apricot and fig, I think, were the ones she said. But she still made them. (I currently have a jar of her last batch of Muscat grape jelly in the cupboard.) The fig tree where she was living then never did much, but the climate was extremely marginal for figs. (Well, it was a fig bush, really. Under two meters. Too cold in the winter for it to be happy.)
First time in ten or more years i’ve thought it might be nice to have a microwave. I do love fig preserves… my Grandmother made them from her trees every year.
i’ve never liked figs but this recipe sounds like it could make me rethink that. if i ever get my life reorganized to some degree, i’m going to have to try this.
(Optional Step 3:) Remove sticky child from kitchen, place in bath full of warm water, hand over soap, and close door firmly.
this takes me back to my baby-sitting days! only it was mud pies in the back yard instead of fig preserves in the kitchen. baby-sitting… i’m pretty sure that’s why i never became a parent myself, kids are a lot of fun, especially when you can give them back to their parents. i do this to my brother. a lot. he’s got the cutest kids… :-)