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Homemade Fig Jam (Džem od Smokava)

Aida
Homemade fig jam bursts with rich, sweet flavors and natural fruitiness. Fast recipe, few ingredients.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Marinating Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Appetizers & Preserves
Cuisine Croatian

Equipment

  • several jars with lids that are about 60-70 oz in total volume

Ingredients
 
 

  • 4.5 pounds fresh figs stems removed, quartered
  • 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice juice from 1 big lemon
  • 8 ounces water
  • 10.5 ounces granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 2oz (60g) vanilla powder
  • 1-2 tablespoons rum extract or apple cider or pineapple juice
  • (Optional) 3-4 ounces walnuts (minced)
  • (Optional) ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • (Optional) ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger

Instructions
 

Marinate Figs

  • Transfer figs to a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice generously and evenly. Cover and leave to marinate at room temperature for 45-60 minutes.

Cook Jam

  • In a large pot bring sugar, vanilla extract, and water to a boil on high. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves.
  • Lower the temperature to low or medium-low, and add figs. Stir well.
  • Simmer on low for 45-55 minutes. Stir frequently, and thoroughly every 5-ish minutes. Remove foam that forms on top. 

Prep Jars (Parallel)

  • About 30 minutes into jam cooking, heat oven to 390°F (200°C).
  • Thoroughly wash and dry the jars you'll use for jam. Then place them on a baking sheet and heat in the oven for 15 minutes to sterilize them.

Blend Jam

  • Using a stick blender, carefully blend jam down to a desired consistency. Add rum, as well as walnuts and spices (if using them). Stir well again.
  • Simmer an additional 5 minutes or so. Check for done-ness by making a line with your spatula on the bottom of the pot. Jam is done when it separates and then connects again easily. If it's not done, add a few more minutes to the cooking time.

Transfer to Jars

  • Keeping your hands safe with a kitchen towel or a mitten, carefully transfer the jam into hot jars. Fill jars to the top. Using a teaspoon push the jam down to get the air bubbles out, and then add more jam to the jars if there's space.
  • Close the lids tightly and flip the jars upside down for sealing. 
  • When jars with fig jam have cooled down, flip them up and transfer them to a cool, dark pantry. Once you open a jar transfer to the fridge. 

Handling

  • Serve jam by itself, on top of homemade bread, or with desserts.
    Store jam jars in a dark, cool, pantry for several months. Once you open up a jar, transfer it to the fridge and consume jam within 7-10 days.

Video

Notes

  • Tips
Protect your hands! Use kitchen towels and/ or mittens to protect your hands when handling hot jars. 
Ripe figs, but not overly! Figs should be ripe (skin will slightly be breaking), but not overly ripe (skin completely squishy, and the insides oozing out). Overly ripe figs have a sour aftertaste.
Seasonings - one or the other! If using optional seasonings, only do cinnamon or ginger at one time to prevent too strong of a taste. Walnuts can go with either seasoning. 
Volume - we get about 1.5-1.75kg or about 50-70 oz of jam, and prefer to keep them in jars of different volumes. They make great presents. 
Calories - we omitted calories as it will depend on how much sugar and additions you add to the jam. 
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!