Honey Fig Preserves and Fig Harvest
My husband’s grandmother, Louise, was known for her figs that she grew for years. His grandparents
had a small vegetable stand that folks would stop by to get good homegrown food. Louise’s figs were
one of the items folks looked forward to getting each year during fig season in north Georgia. I still
remember tasting my first fig. Yes, from Louise…I had never had one before and my word was it ripe and
delicious. I would have been in my early twenties, and I can still remember being in her old kitchen when
she went to get the figs out of the fridge. She is the one that told me to put them in the fridge to help
them last a little longer.
Louise taught me so many things in my young married life…how to remove wallpaper and then, how to
cut and hang wallpaper (I think she was in her mid to late 70’s when she did that). She also tried to teach
me to sew, refurbish furniture, and of course she would share cooking recipes. She made the best pecan
pie I have ever eaten and the last piece I ever had on this side of heaven, since I developed a nut allergy.
She was such a treasure. When Louise passed away, I planted my first fig (a black mission) in honor of
her. We thought we might have lost our precious fig in last Christmas’ deep freeze. All our figs took a hit
as did many other plant favorites, but early this summer Louise’s Fig started putting on new leaves and
is looking quite healthy now as we head into fall.
As you can imagine Johnny and I were both relieved to see her bring forth new healthy growth. We only
had one of our figs this year which was a shared tree with our neighbors that produced any figs. It is a
brown turkey fig. I went out about a week ago as the figs were becoming rip. When a fig is ripe it will
start the bending process. If you allow it to bend too far the birds, bees, and ants will enjoy it, but if you
pick them at the halfway bend point, you will have a tasty ripe fig to enjoy.
One of the big questions you hear a lot about figs is the fact that they are higher in sugar, so can that be
good for you especially if you have blood sugar issues. In fact, figs are higher in sugar; however, they are
also higher in fiber which means the fiber helps to balance out the sugar impact. Remember fiber is
always our friend! It is also important to remember to add some protein to balance your figs out such as
a nice plain Greek yogurt. This will make a fantastic snack. Figs are full of vitamins and minerals such as
A, C, B6, K, Calcium, Iron, Potassium, Magnesium, Copper, Riboflavin, and Strontium. Eating foods with
said nutrition is far better than buying expensive supplements.
Figs are good for
Digestive health
Heart health
Skin health
Bone health
Fig leaves are also good for you when dried and made into tea. Studies have shown that the leaves help
with blood sugar control. As with any food, it is good to enjoy when in season. The only downside to figs
is if you take blood thinner medicine, to only consume in small amounts as the higher vitamin k can
interfere with your medicine’s absorption.
This year with our reduced fig harvest, I decided to make a small batch of honey fig preserves. I love this
recipe because it is perfect to put a spoonful over my morning Greek yogurt. It adds a little sweetness
but not super sweet. I hope you will give it a try.
Honey Fig Preserves
2lbs of fresh figs (frozen ones will work to)
2/3 cup of honey (I use Alapaha Honey)
1 cup of water (maybe a little less if frozen)
3 TBSP of lemon juice
~Wash figs well and snip stems off.
~Place all ingredients into a pan and bring to a boil (I like to mash my figs first).
~Reduce heat and simmer until figs reduce to a thick jam/preserve and gel on the back of a cold spoon.
This takes about 40 to 45 minutes. Make sure to stir to keep from sticking.
~Jar up and use for fresh eating or freeze it for a longer shelf life.