Ingredients:1 kg healthy, ripe figs500 g sugar (300 g white granulated sugar, 200 g brown sugar)1 citron or 1 lemon (ripe and untreated)1 vanilla pod
Quickly wash the figs and then dry them well, laid out on a tea towel or kitchen paper. Remove their “stalks” and chop them up coarsely. Put them in a shallow, heavy-bottomed saucepan or non-stick frying pan (without the lid on) to cook for about half an hour. Add the sugar, the citron (or lemon) rind cut into small pieces and the vanilla pod, and cook for another 30-45 minutes (1).
Stir the mixture frequently, to avoid it sticking to the pan and “burning”. After this time remove the pan from the heat and pour the jam into a baking tin. Put it in a preheated oven at a medium temperature (approx. 140 °C) for about 20 minutes. It will finish drying out, almost caramelising; the result will be a really exquisite jam.
You can use it for filling cakes and tarts, spread on bread for breakfast, for a snack at teatime or to accompany cheese and cold cuts.
To preserve the jam: sterilise the jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes, making sure they are completely under water, then remove them with a pair of tongs and place them on a folded tea towel. Pour the boiling jam into the jars (it will make a hissing noise) e close them immediately. As the jam cools down a vacuum will be created in the jar (you will hear the lids go “click”) allowing it to be preserved perfectly.
(1) The jam should be fairly “dry”; the cooking time depends on the type of figs and how ripe they are.