First of all, I’d like to extend a huge congratulations to Julia, fellow Nashvillian and lucky commenter #68, for winning the great fig-away!

Julia, I expect a full report on all the delicious things you do with your bounty! (And prepare yourself, I think it’s really hard to imagine just how many figs are going to be arriving at your front door…)

Thanks to all who entered! And stay tuned, I’ve got another fabulous giveaway in the works. :)

You’d think with all that jam I made that I wouldn’t have anything left. You’d be wrong. That jam, all 36-odd jars of it, used maybe 2/3 of each flat. And then I froze a bunch (so chances are you’ll continue seeing fig recipes into the fall). Even after that, we still had a lot of figs to use up.

This simple pizza is a great way to highlight everything wonderful about fresh figs. The salty prosciutto, rich cheese, and spicy arugula perfectly compliment the floral sweetness. I used a mix of the different varieties of fig, which makes for a beautiful eclectic presentation, but you are free to use your favorite variety or whatever is available at the time.

Fig, Prosciutto, and Arugula Pizza

Makes 1 large or 2 small pizzas

Ingredients:

1/4 batch napoletana pizza dough (posted here), divided for two smaller pizzas
8-10 fresh figs, sliced
3-4 slices good quality prosciutto, torn into pieces
4 oz. Montasio cheese, grated or thinly sliced (substitute parmesan or manchego or a mix if you like)
2-3 oz. fresh arugula
olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat a pizza stone in a 500 degree oven for at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough into very thin rounds. Transfer to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal.

Lightly brush crust with olive oil, and then arrange fig slices, prosciutto pieces, and half of cheese on top.

Transfer to pizza stone and bake until crust is crisp and golden and cheese is melted, 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your crust.

Toss arugula with a splash of olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Top pizza with a generous handful of arugula and remaining cheese. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.

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When this whole canning bug hit, there was one thing on my mind. Pepper jelly. One of my favorite treats, and something I never even considered trying to make. Jelly just seemed so… complicated. In reality? It’s anything but.

I remember my aunt always showing up at family gatherings with a jar or two of her homemade pepper jelly. We would devour dozens of crackers and bits of bread smothered with cream cheese and the crystal clear jelly. It is one of those delicacies that even though you’ve really only eaten it a handful of times in your life, you always remember just how delicious it was.

Lucky for us she was more than willing to share her (not so secret) recipe.

This jelly is tart, very sweet (it’s practically dessert), with a hint of peppery kick. I’ve seen recipes for green variations, but never being a fan of green peppers, I didn’t even consider them.

I’ve made two separate batches, the first with about 6 (fairly mild) red jalapenos. To call it mild is an understatement. Wanting a bit more kick, I did a second batch with two red pizza peppers, one very hot jalapeno, and a Thai chili. This one has a kick, but I still wouldn’t call it “hot”. Depending on your tolerance for spice, err on the side of too much heat, as you strain most of it out anyway. I’d be interested in trying a Habanero pepper version – that may be enough to give it some real heat.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to wear gloves when you chop the peppers. I learned the hard way that even mild bell peppers, if you chop enough of them, will burn your bare skin, not to mention more sensitive areas like eyes and lips. Not fun.

The recipe promised I’d get 5 jars. The first batch, I got 3 1/2. The second batch, I got 4 and a spoonful. I’m not sure where that extra jar’s worth of jelly is going (am I simmering it for too long, maybe?) but that’s the reality of canning, I guess. Additionally, the recipe originally called for the addition of food coloring. If you use all red peppers, your “red” pepper jelly is naturally going to be more of a pale orange. Don’t you dare add any green ones or your jelly will end up looking like muck. But if you must have a bright red jelly, by all means add some food coloring at the end.

Don’t forget! We’re giving away a super prize pack of nearly 15 dozen fresh California figs! Giveaway ends on Thursday, so enter now for your chance to win!

Red Pepper Jelly

Makes 4-5 half-pint jars. Adapted from Better than Store-Bought.

Ingredients:

3 medium sweet read peppers, seeded, deribbed, and chopped or ground (to make 1 2/3 cups, with juice)
Enough small, fresh red hot peppers (jalapeno, thai chilies, or pizza peppers work well), seeded, deribbed, and coarsely chopped (to make about 1/2 cup)
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch Certa liquid pectin

Directions:

Combine the peppers with the cider vinegar in a stainless-steel or enameled saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture through a jelly bag or a sieve lined with two layers of cheesecloth. Drain without squeezing. Discard the pulp. (Note: this infusion can be made ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use).

Measure 1 1/2 cups of the infusion into a 4-quart stainless-steel or enameled saucepan. Add the salt and bring to a simmer. Add the sugar and stir over high head until the mixture comes to a full boil that can't be stirred down. Add pectin. Return to a boil for 1 minute; remove from heat. Skim off the foam.

Divide the jelly into hot, sterilized, half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Top with lids and rings. Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool completely, 12-24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a week.

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There is something comfortably familiar about fig jam. It’s hard for me to place, because I don’t remember eating any fig jam when I was a kid; in fact, my only exposure to figs was the unpleasant fig newtons my dad used to eat. Yet something about it tastes like I’ve been eating it my whole life. The only thing I could come up with was it tastes remotely like a Serviceberry, an obscure sort of berry that grew in our backyard. But we didn’t exactly go around gobbling up the sweet blue berries, in fact most of the time we just ignored them.

I just spent the entire weekend making jam. Three days, 15 dozen figs, two trips to the grocery store (I’m not going to have enough jars for all this!), and a boat load of sugar later… I’ve added 36 more jars to our stash. I was determined not to waste a single fig. I wanted to highlight the subtleties in the different varieties (emphasis on subtleties, they are very similar and it is hard to taste much of a difference between them). So I made five batches of jam, one with each variety. Call it single origin jam if you will.

The first was just plain jam. No spices, no flavorings; just pure fig. The green Calimyrna figs to be precise (though, they could very well be the Sierra, which I may have confused in the process). I then decided that my second batch, the smaller seeded Kadota variety, needed a dash of honey in place of some of the sugar. And a dash would have been a lovely accent to the fig. Unfortunately, I think the 1/2 cup of dark wildflower honey I carelessly added was a bit much. The honey all but overpowered the delicate flavor of the figs. Oops. It’s not bad or inedible, it just tastes like honey rather than fig. Oh well, I guess 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.

The third batch may just be my favorite. For this richly colored jam, I infused the sweet Brown Turkey figs with a rich and fruity balsamic vinegar. And learning from my mistake with the honey, I added just a little vinegar at a time until it was just right. Heavenly.

Last batch. I was really very tired at this point (jam making requires an incredible amount of stamina), but I was ready to kick it up a notch. Bring on the booze. Grand Marnier, to be precise. Another winner.

(And I realize that’s only 4 – the Black Mission figs were preserved whole in a sweet orange syrup. Will post this recipe, and the lovely fig jelly I made from the leftover syrup, shortly).

I’m ready for a break from all this jam. Unless I somehow come upon another stash of free fruit (which I would never turn down), I don’t plan on making any more jam in the near future. Whether this actually happens or not, we will just have to wait and see. I keep this up and I may have to seek out the local Canners Anonymous group. It’s that bad (or good, depending on how you look at it).

Want to win your own fig sampler? A super prize pack of nearly 15 dozen fresh California figs could be yours! Enter now for your chance to win!

Fig Jam

Makes 6 half-pint jars. Adapted from PickYourOwn.org.

Ingredients:

4 cups roughly chopped fresh figs (stems, thick skins, and blemishes removed)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 package low sugar pectin
4 cups sugar

Directions:

Prepare canner and wash/sterilize 6 half-pint mason jars. Keep jars in hot (not boiling) water until ready to use.

In a large, heavy saucepan, combine figs, lemon juice, and water. Sprinkle in pectin and stir until combined. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture has reached a full roiling boil, add the sugar all at once (it helps to have it pre-measured into a bowl).

Return mixture to a hard boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for 1 full minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot jam into jars and top with lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool completely, 12-24 hours. Check seals. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used immediately.

Variations: - Honey Fig Jam: Add 2-4 tablespoons of honey to the mixture with the sugar. If you are using a mild/light honey, add more as needed. A darker honey has a stronger flavor and will need much less. Taste as you go and don't make the same mistake I did.
- Balsamic Fig Jam: Add 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar to fig mixture prior to cooking.
- Grand Marnier Spiked Fig Jam: Replace all or part of water with fresh orange juice. Stir in 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier liquor to fig jam after removing from heat.

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