I really like figs, I like them so much that I've planted two fig trees in my back garden in Olympia, Washington. The climate there is marginal when it comes to ripening the fruit and I am lucky to get two or three figs from the oldest tree before the neighborhood raccoons get the handful of others that might have ripened. I won the second fig tree at a Fruit Society Meeting two years ago, and it had not borne fruit before I left home for the UAE. This second one is a clone of one that seems to be well-adapted to one of the San Juan Islands (Washington State, USA) so I have high hopes that it will be a good one in relatively nearby Olympia as well.
The edible fig, Ficus carica L., originated in the Middle East. This is significant because the plant has a relationship with a tiny native wasp which crawls into the floral structure, crawls around pollinating the flowers, and thus, producing seedy fruit. The wasp is not found in the Pacific Northwest so the figs that we are able to produce in the my region in the U.S. are seedless, like seedless grapes. Until I moved here, I had not had a fresh fig with seeds, which brings me to my story, sort of. The seeds were a pleasant surprise since it started me thinking about wild fig plants.
Recently I ate in a restaurant in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE) where I was served two home-made jams, a fig jam flavored with wild za'atar and a date jam with lemon peel. They were both delicious but I was especially interested in hearing about the fig with za'atar. Za'atar is the local name for either oregano, marjoram or thyme. Most people will say that it is thyme but it doesn't look like the thyme I'm familiar with, and it smells more like marjoram or oregano. But since these culinary herbs are indigenous to the Middle East, there will be a lot of variation in both plant type and flavor in this region. I decided that I wanted to make my own fig jam flavored with wild za'atar. I have made micro-batches of fresh fig jam in the past and like experimenting with different combinations of citrus peels and aromatic seeds so this project was not totally new to me. I have also made enough jam in tiny batches to know how to do it. But I do have some challenges living here: no canning jars or equipment.
I found small yellow figs imported from Lebanon at my neighborhood vegetable souq. I wasn't going to buy them, thought the little yellow fruits would be an under-ripe, flavorless waste, but my friends at the souq convinced me to try them. I took home a box of about two kilos of fruit and was happy to discover that they were delicious, sweet and jammy. It turns out that these are the type of fig that the wasp visits. Whether the presence of seeds affected the flavor or whether they were just a good variety at the peak of ripeness, they were exquisite. I ate one and left the rest for making the jam.
I was unable to find the za'atar soon enough for the making of the jam so fig and za'atar jam will have to wait until I can find both at the same time. I have to admit that the chef said they used the dried herb instead of fresh.
This batch is Aniseed-Lemon Peel-Fig Jam wonderful.
2 kilos(?) of figs (see the box of figs in photo above)
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp aniseed, slightly crushed to release flavor
peel of 1 lemon cut into slivers
Before making the jam, prepare the jars and utensils. I used clean but used jam jars. I have no real canning jars so I used thick glass jars I had saved for storing foods bought in bulk. I would recommend using canning jars if at all possible so that the jars can be properly sealed and are less likely to break from heating them. Place the clean jars on their sides (no tops) in the oven and turn the oven on to a low temperature. This is to sterilize the jars, you don't want to break them so try for about 180-200 degrees F. (not Celsius!).
Boil the jar tops in a small saucepan to kill any potential jam-spoiling organisms. I also sterilize the utensils in the same saucepan. I use a stainless steel stirring spoon, ladle, tongs and a canning funnel (here I used the top of a 5 liter plastic water bottle as my funnel).
Wash, then chop the fruit into pieces. Put in large pan with the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring so that it doesn't burn on the bottom. Cook it down to a good jam consistency. When ready, ladle the hot jam into the hot jars. Use the funnel to keep the opening and outside of the jar jam-free. Use a napkin dipped in the boiling water to wipe off the rim of the jar before putting the top on.
Back to that seediness I mentioned... I was surprised to see many tiny yellow seeds floating around in the jam mixture as it cooked. Yes, these figs were seedy! I skimmed off some of them but after tasting the skimmings, realized that they did not add a bad flavor to the jam so I left the rest. It depends on your taste and digestive system whether to skim off some or just leave them as an added texture.
After the jam has cooled to room temperature, store in refrigerator or freezer. I made almost 3 jars of jam from the figs I bought. I brought the partially full jar into work for tasting, am still working on one jar and put the last jar in the freezer. So far, it hasn't spoiled.
About a month after making my jam, I read a post at Sugar Street Review about Bethany Kehdy from Dirty Kitchen Secrets, She conducts food trekking tours in Lebanon and is having a contest to win a food tour of Lebanon in 2013. It's more than perfect for me, don't you think? She even has a photo of women working with wild za'atar on her website.
I have visited Lebanon once so far and loved it. That first trip was a literary holiday, spending time with publishers, meeting an author at a street bookfair, and in book stores buying the literature of Lebanon. As I was leaving, I promised myself and new friends that I would return for the olive and grape harvests. I missed the harvest this year but I still intend to return. As I write this, I realize how much I want to delve into the wild origins of the food plants of this region. I don't want to return to my home country until I've finished this project.
The edible fig, Ficus carica L., originated in the Middle East. This is significant because the plant has a relationship with a tiny native wasp which crawls into the floral structure, crawls around pollinating the flowers, and thus, producing seedy fruit. The wasp is not found in the Pacific Northwest so the figs that we are able to produce in the my region in the U.S. are seedless, like seedless grapes. Until I moved here, I had not had a fresh fig with seeds, which brings me to my story, sort of. The seeds were a pleasant surprise since it started me thinking about wild fig plants.
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| Fig jam with za'atar and date jam with lemon at Sands Restaurant, BanyanTree Al Wadi |
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| My souq friends clowning around with watermelon and figs |
I was unable to find the za'atar soon enough for the making of the jam so fig and za'atar jam will have to wait until I can find both at the same time. I have to admit that the chef said they used the dried herb instead of fresh.
This batch is Aniseed-Lemon Peel-Fig Jam wonderful.
Micro-batch Fig Jam Recipe Using Small, Yellow, Seedy, Lebanese Figs
2 kilos(?) of figs (see the box of figs in photo above)
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp aniseed, slightly crushed to release flavor
peel of 1 lemon cut into slivers
Before making the jam, prepare the jars and utensils. I used clean but used jam jars. I have no real canning jars so I used thick glass jars I had saved for storing foods bought in bulk. I would recommend using canning jars if at all possible so that the jars can be properly sealed and are less likely to break from heating them. Place the clean jars on their sides (no tops) in the oven and turn the oven on to a low temperature. This is to sterilize the jars, you don't want to break them so try for about 180-200 degrees F. (not Celsius!).
Boil the jar tops in a small saucepan to kill any potential jam-spoiling organisms. I also sterilize the utensils in the same saucepan. I use a stainless steel stirring spoon, ladle, tongs and a canning funnel (here I used the top of a 5 liter plastic water bottle as my funnel).
Wash, then chop the fruit into pieces. Put in large pan with the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring so that it doesn't burn on the bottom. Cook it down to a good jam consistency. When ready, ladle the hot jam into the hot jars. Use the funnel to keep the opening and outside of the jar jam-free. Use a napkin dipped in the boiling water to wipe off the rim of the jar before putting the top on.
Back to that seediness I mentioned... I was surprised to see many tiny yellow seeds floating around in the jam mixture as it cooked. Yes, these figs were seedy! I skimmed off some of them but after tasting the skimmings, realized that they did not add a bad flavor to the jam so I left the rest. It depends on your taste and digestive system whether to skim off some or just leave them as an added texture.
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| Finished jam |
About a month after making my jam, I read a post at Sugar Street Review about Bethany Kehdy from Dirty Kitchen Secrets, She conducts food trekking tours in Lebanon and is having a contest to win a food tour of Lebanon in 2013. It's more than perfect for me, don't you think? She even has a photo of women working with wild za'atar on her website.
I have visited Lebanon once so far and loved it. That first trip was a literary holiday, spending time with publishers, meeting an author at a street bookfair, and in book stores buying the literature of Lebanon. As I was leaving, I promised myself and new friends that I would return for the olive and grape harvests. I missed the harvest this year but I still intend to return. As I write this, I realize how much I want to delve into the wild origins of the food plants of this region. I don't want to return to my home country until I've finished this project.
