Recipe: Fresh fig-almond jam with no added pectin
Beautiful ripe Kadota figs, combined with almonds and lemon, will become delicious jam. Debbie Arrington
It’s fig season and, judging by local trees, this summer looks like a banner year.
Our neighbor generously invited me to pick as many of her Kadota figs (the yellow-green ones) as I wanted from her loaded tree. She didn’t have to ask twice. With their delicate flavor and amber hue, Kadota figs make wonderful jam and preserves without added pectin.
The secret ingredient? Patience. Let it simmer very low, barely bubbling, while stirring often.
Finely chopped almonds add extra texture, subtle flavor and a little crunch. The fig-almond combination was inspired by French preserves we sampled in Provence.
While you could skip the almonds, don’t bypass the lemon. The lemon juice helps the jam jell while also preserving the figs’ bright color; the lemon zest adds a little more zing to the final flavor, balancing its sweetness.
Like those preserves, this fig-almond jam is perfect with brie or other soft cheese as well as spread on toast or English muffins.
Fresh fig-almond jam
Makes 6 cups (half-pints)
Ingredients:
4 cups figs, chopped
1 lemon
½ cup water
3-1/2 cups sugar
¼ cup almonds, finely chopped
Instructions:
Put a small ceramic plate in the freezer. (You’ll use this to test the jam.)
Wash figs, remove stems and trim off flower ends. Roughly chop.
Place figs in a large heavy pot.
Zest and juice the lemon and add to the figs. Stir in water.
Over medium-high heat, bring fig mixture to a boil, stirring often.
Add sugar all at once; stir to dissolve. Bring mixture back to boil. Boil for 2 minutes.
Stir in almonds. Reduce heat to low.
Simmer mixture uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often so mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot or scorch. Jam is ready when it mounds on a spoon. It will thicken more as it cools.
To test jam for doneness, put a teaspoonful of the hot liquid on that ice-cold plate and return plate to the freezer for 2 minutes. If the jam holds its shape and doesn’t run when the plate is turned sideways, it’s ready.
Ladle hot jam into sterilized jars and seal. Process for 10 minutes in boiling water bath, if desired.
Alternatively, jam may be stored in tightly sealed jars without processing in the refrigerator for up to 2 months, in the freezer for 1 year.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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