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Get your flavor jam on with this Southern fig jam recipe! Ready in under 1 hour, it’s a quick mix of figs, sugar, citrus peel, and lemon juice, and perfect for perking up your everyday dishes. Plus, it keeps for three months in the fridge!
Love easy fruit spreads? Don’t miss these recipes for peach, strawberry, and maple jam and vanilla brandy tangerine jam.
Quick Look: Southern Fig Jam Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 40 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 50 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 48 servings (makes 3-3½ cups)
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: Southern American
- 🍽️ Calories: 41 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦 Dietary Info: Vegan and Gluten Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: fruity sweetness, hints of citrus tang and spices, and crunch from the fig seeds.
- 🔑 Top Tip: Check to see if the jam is set by spooning some into a saucer and placing it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then, run your finger through the cooled jam. If the track your finger makes holds its shape, the jam is sufficiently set.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: Enjoy with a Riesling, whose sweet floral notes complement the richness of the fig jam, or a Sauvignon Blanc to accentuate the citrus elements with its crispness. A beer like a Belgian Witbier highlights the citrus flavors, while a light Pilsner complements without overwhelming the subtle flavors of the figs.
- ❄️ Storage: Let jars cool to room temperature before placing into the fridge for up to 3 months.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Unprocessed and FRESH – there is no guilt here, nothing processed, just incredible. The flavor reflects that. Swap fig preserves for the stuff on your kid’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich and feel good about it.
- Compliments Every Meal of the Day – Enjoy on toast at breakfast, spread as a base on a bleu cheese flatbread at lunch, and add to pork tenderloin in the final minutes of roasting for a sweet/savory nuance at dinner.
- Easily Flavored – Fig preserves are significant because so few ingredients are required, but this method benefits from thoughtful add-ins if you are inclined. I like fresh thyme and rosemary, vanilla extract, stick cinnamon, cardamom, or lemon zest for color.
- No Pectin Required – As a matter of fact, no boiling water or hot water bath is required either. This is a no-can, small-batch, easy fig jam recipe.
“I made jam and it’s delicious.”
Table of Contents
Ingredients
When a recipe calls for just a few ingredients, using the highest quality you can afford is crucial. Let’s chat about the key ingredients in this simple fig jam recipe.
- Fresh Figs: If you are lucky enough to have your own or know somebody with a fig tree, great! Otherwise, choose ripe, slightly soft figs with vibrant color and no signs of bruising when purchasing. They should emit a sweet fragrance and maintain their shape when cut. Either black mission figs or brown turkey figs are delicious, or use a combination! Use up any leftovers in these fig bars with oatmeal and walnuts.
- Citrus Peel: Introduces an unmatched brightness to an otherwise sweet condiment; I like Meyer lemon, orange, tangerine, clementine, pink grapefruit, and kumquat. Use a vegetable peeler to peel 2 to 3-inch strips, being cautious not to include the white pith. (If you love citrus preserves, don’t skip making this small batch kumquat marmalade!)
- Lemon Juice: A necessary acid that helps balance the sweetness and aids the jam’s setting.
- Sugar: Increases the sweetness of the figs and helps preserve them.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- My Favorite Variation: Per Food and Wine Magazine, I dabbled with the addition of a White Port (1/4 cup) and rosemary (leaves of 1 stem, chopped) and found myself speechless. That combination worked well with tangerine peel. You do you. Keep the jam au naturale or jazz it up to the point of swoon!
- Add Spices & Flavorings: Try adding a teaspoon of vanilla extract or the seeds scraped out of 1 split vanilla bean. You could also try simmering the jam with 1 cinnamon stick, or adding half of a teaspoon of ground cardamom.
- Lemon Zest: Add no more than 2 teaspoons of lemon zest for color AFTER the jam is cooled. (Adding it earlier means that the citrus flavor will be cooked off!)
- Stir in Fresh Herbs: Stir in a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves from 1 stem, or the leaves of 3 thyme stems after cooking your jam. This adds a uniqueness that pairs wonderfully with the figs’ sweetness and the citrus’s brightness, especially if you plan to use the jam on roasted or grilled meats or cheeseboards.
How to Make Homemade Fig Jam
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Bring to a Boil
Add the granulated sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, water, and two 3-4-inch long strips of any variety of citrus peel you wish to use (use only 1 peel if using pink grapefruit). Add any additional ingredients to customize your jam, with the exception of fresh herbs, which are added after the jam has cooked.
Bring the lot to a boil.
2
Simmer Until Thickened
Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the jam, stirring the contents of the pot occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the fruit is jammy and very soft, about 40 to 45 minutes.
3
Serve & Enjoy
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Remove and discard the citrus peels and any additional ingredients such as a cinnamon stick or vanilla bean.
Allow the jam to cool slightly before spooning it into jars with tight-fitting lids. Leave ½-inch room at the top of each jar before securing those lids. Let cool to room temperature before placing into the fridge for up to 3 months.
Southern Fig Jam FAQs
No, the entire fruit, minus its stem, is used in the jam process.
Any fresh figs can be used to make jam, but the most popular are Black Mission, Kadota, and Brown Turkey figs due to their sweet flavors and soft textures, which break down quickly when cooked.
Yes, you can reduce the sugar in your fig jam, but remember that sugar not only sweetens the jam but also helps it set and preserve it. Additionally, reducing sugar may shorten the shelf life of the jam.
There’s this thing homesteaders and avid canners use to test when their jams and jellies are finished simmering. It’s called the ‘saucer test.’
Place a saucer in the freezer to chill. Once it’s cold, spread a bit of jam on it. Run your finger through the tiny pool of jam; if the track your finger makes remains intact, and the jam on either side of your finger track does not immediately fill the void, your jam is ready.
Serving Suggestions
This Southern fig jam is perfect for a wide variety of creative and delicious uses! Layer it on both slices of bread for a gourmet grilled cheese with turkey and apple, or enjoy it on your morning toast (like a slice of Irish barmbrack). It’s also perfect for tricking out charcuterie boards, or replacing raspberry preserves in an epic Monte Cristo sandwich. Use an immersion blender to purée this into a distinctive sauce that’s fantastic spooned over oven roasted pork tenderloin.
It works wonders in desserts, like in these mini jam-topped cheesecakes or over ice cream with a shard of Southern benne seed brittle.
Expert Tips
- Use a wide, shallow pan. The increased surface area versus a deep pan allows the jam to cook down faster and helps to achieve the perfect consistency without overcooking the fruit.
- A teaspoon of vanilla extract or a vanilla bean pod during cooking makes this amazing. This adds a subtle depth of flavor that complements the sweetness of the figs and citrus. In terms of citrus where vanilla is concerned, go tangelo, clementine, or orange.
- Foam forms on the surface as your jam cooks. Skimming it off as you stir can help clarify your jam, making it look more appealing and reducing sugary waste that solidifies on the wall of the pan.
- Use a candy thermometer to check the jam’s temperature; it should reach 220°F (104°C), which is the point at which the mixture will set properly once cooled.
- Want a smooth or chunky jam? For a chunkier texture, lightly crush large fig pieces with a fork or potato masher during the simmer. For a smoother consistency, blend in a food processor or use an immersion blender after the simmer.
Other Fig Recipes You’ll Love
Bread & Pizza Dough
A Fig Prosciutto And Gorgonzola Pizza
Soups & Salads
Marinated Fresh Fig And Mozzarella Salad
Breakfast & Brunch
Four Ingredient Single Batch Fig Preserves
Southern Fig Jam Recipe
Ingredients
For the Fig Jam
- 2 pounds ripe figs, green and/or purple; washed, stemmed, and halved
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup lemon juice, fresh
- ½ cup water
- 2 3-4-inch strips citrus peels, either tangerine, clementine, orange, Meyer lemon, pink grapefruit, or kumquat
Optional Add-Ins for Flavoring
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- ¼ cup white port
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- To wash figs, gently rinse them under cool water and pat them dry with a soft towel. All in all, your prep time is about 10 minutes. Add the figs to a large, nonreactive saucepan.
- Add the granulated sugar, lemon juice, water, and citrus peels from the variety of citrus you wish to use. (Use a vegetable peeler to get the strips of peel; avoid any white pith. If using pink grapefruit, use only 1 strip of peel.) If using an additional ingredient to customize your jam, add it now–with the exception of fresh herbs–which are added once the jam is finished cooking.
- Bring everything to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar and avoid the fruit scorching. Reduce heat to medium low. Simmer the jam, stirring the contents of the pot occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the fruit is jammy and very soft, about 40-45 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Remove the citrus peels and any add-ins immediately. Allow the jam to cool slightly before spooning it into jars with tight-fitting lids. Leave ½-inch room at the top of each jar before securing the lids. Let jars cool to room temperature before placing into the fridge for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Use a wide, shallow pan. The increased surface area versus a deep pan allows the jam to cook down faster and helps to achieve the perfect consistency without overcooking the fruit.
- A teaspoon of vanilla extract or a vanilla bean pod during cooking makes this amazing. This adds a subtle depth of flavor that complements the sweetness of the figs and citrus. In terms of citrus where vanilla is concerned, go tangelo, clementine, or orange.
- Foam forms on the surface as your jam cooks. Skimming it off as you stir can help clarify your jam, making it look more appealing and reducing sugary waste that solidifies on the wall of the pan.
- Use a candy thermometer to check the jam’s temperature; it should reach 220°F (104°C), which is the point at which the mixture will set properly once cooled.
- Want a smooth or chunky jam? For a chunkier texture, lightly crush large fig pieces with a fork or potato masher during the simmer. For a smoother consistency, blend in a food processor or use an immersion blender after the simmer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made jam and it’s delicious. I cooked a jam down with the lemon peels in it. Can I can do the gym with a lemon peel instead of discarding them?
Hi Mary! I’m so glad you made the jam and are loving it-be sure to try it with grilled cheese and on charcuterie boards.
I want to make sure I understand your question—are you asking if you can can the jam with the lemon peel left in, rather than discarding it? If so, yes, you can, but it comes down to taste. Personally, I discard the peel because I don’t love the flavor it develops over time in the jar—it’s a bit too bitter for me. But if you’re a fan of sour marmalade-style jams, you might enjoy the added zing.
That said, Meyer lemon peels are much milder and absolutely shine in this recipe, so if that’s what you used, I say go for it! And if you were referring to adding something like orange peel instead, yes—that can be a delicious twist too.
Let me know if I misunderstood—I’m happy to help clarify!