Figs! 😋

One of my favorite periods of time each year is when figs ripen on the tree (Ficus carica) in the back yard. I have always loved figs and have fond memories of eating homemade fig preserves made by various women in my family. Aunt Carrie, my mother's sister, in particular was remembered for this. The man across the street from her had a huge fig tree that bore a lot of fruit each year. If I remember correctly, he did not eat the figs, himself, but he definitely shared them with folks in his neighborhood.

^{• PHOTO BY ME •}

One of my favorite meals is fresh fruit, a poached egg, sausages, and whole wheat toast. I eat this sometimes for breakfast or even as an evening meal! I usually opt for sausage made from turkey instead of beef or pork, because of the lower saturated fat content. It is wonderful when there are fresh figs to accompany this meal! I enjoy many different fruits, but figs are likely my very favorite of them all.

My mother loved figs so much that she would frequently stand under the trees, pick them, and eat them there rather than bringing them into the house. One year, my father decided to get a fig tree for Mom and plant it behind the house. Fig trees thrive easily in the hot, humid area where most of the family lived at the time. However, a job opportunity prompted my father to move us away from family to a slightly-cooler location. So, getting a fig tree started would be a challenge.

He dug a small sapling from under the mature tree of a family member and transported it. The sapling did not survive the cold winter. So, the next year, he covered the second tree, but it did not survive the cold of winter, either. Finally, he built a box out of scrap wood to cover the tree and keep the frost away. This finally worked and the tree survived! He covered it in a similar manner another winter or two until it was big-enough to survive on it own. The tree is now as tall as our house and produces a decent amount of figs each year which I share with the other widow-ladies in the neighborhood.

^{• ONE FIG READY TO PICK TWO STILL RIPENING • PHOTO BY ME •}

To pick the figs, one only need to look for the lovely brown color of the ripened ones. Gently hold the fig in your fingers and twist — if the stem easily separates from the branch of the tree, it is ready. If not, leave that fruit until the next day. Although figs ripen during the hottest part of the summer ("Dog Days"), it might be a good idea to wear long pants and/or long sleeves while picking the figs, as there are usually plenty of flies and gnats that love to bite folks who are picking "their" figs. 😱

Figs may be eaten raw, dried, or cooked. Figs are a good source of dietary fiber, Vitamin-C, Choline, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, and Potassium. They are a wonderful accompaniment to any meal, or even eaten alone as a snack. Besides being a favorite of some of us humans, figs are favored by many birds, squirrels, wasps, bees, flies, gnats, and ants. I usually pick the figs I can reach from ground-level and leave the higher fruit on the tree for the birds and other critters. I feel that it is only fair to share my bounty, plus I am getting too old to be monkeying-about on top of a ladder.


Figs do not last very long once they are ripe unless they are preserved in some way. Figs may be dried in a similar manner in which plums are dried to make prunes, and are often seen in stores in that form through the New Year holiday. Alternatively, they may be cooked and sealed in air-tight jars as Fig Preserves or Fig Jam, which is what my family did.

Before discussing how to make Fig Preserves/Jam, I wanted to mention a piece of tangential information for those who do not know:

• jelly is a translucent food made from only the juice of fruit
• jam is a more opaque food made from cut, crushed, or pulverized fruit along with the juice of the fruit
• preserves are made from the whole fruit, or large chunks of the fruit, along with the juice

Take any desired quantity of fresh figs and wash/rinse them. If you wish to make jam instead of preserves, cut the fruits into small pieces; for preserves, leave them whole, or cut them only in half. Place the fruit into a saucepan with a very small quantity of water (just enough to keep them from scorching until the figs begin to release their own juices). Turn the stove onto low heat and let them gently simmer for a bit, checking them periodically. After a little while, the figs will begin to cook down (i.e., soften and break into pieces) and release their juices just as apples do when making stewed apples or homemade applesauce.

This is the point at which you should add the sugar. Even though figs (and other foods made into jams/preserves) are often naturally sweet, the addition of sugar will help achieve the desired consistency. The quantity of sugar to add is largely a matter of taste, and a sugar substitute such as Splenda® would probably work well, too, especially if the person eating it is diabetic. There is some natural pectin in the figs that will help them set properly, but the addition of a packet of fruit pectin might be good, especially if you wish to use a smaller amount of sugar. (My family always added tons of sugar, so pectin was never necessary... 😜)

Note that PickYourOwn.org cautions that too little sugar will possibly cause the fruit to ferment, resulting in spoiled/unedible jam/preserves. Since I seldom follow recipes to the letter, the amount of sugar I add varies each time, but I would estimate that I use one cup or one-and-a-half cups for each pound of fruit I have. I usually add a cup of sugar, stir thoroughly to blend it, take a teensy taste, and then decide whether to add more or not.This is also the point at which to add the pectin, if you're opting for that.

Lastly, add a bit of lemon juice. This will act as a natural preservative as well as give a more rounded taste to the final product. Again, I do not measure, but just add a "splash" of lemon juice, perhaps a tablespoon, straight from the bottle to the saucepan. Stir thoroughly to incorporate.

Unless the fig jam/preserves will be consumed within the coming days, it can be "canned" — sealed in sterilized, air-tight jars — and given as gifts or stored in a cool, dark cupboard for a year or two until consumed. But trust me, that these are so good they won't be around long! 😋 Jars of homemade jam/preserves make excellent gifts, especially if decorative jars are used. I learned the canning process from family, but good information can be found online, too, on sites such as PickYourOwn.org and others.