Ginger Fig Preserves

Ingredients

Makes: about 1 1/2 quarts

Prep: about 10 minutes

Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes

• 3 lb. Fresh Figs

• 3 cups Sugar ( I like this level of sweetness with the spice. Use less sugar if you like.)

• 1 inch “knob” or chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

• Zest of one Fresh Lemon

• Juice of one Fresh Lemon

• A Second Fresh Lemon, sliced into rounds

• 1/4 Tsp. Salt

• 1 1/2 c. Candied or Crystallized Ginger – chopped into small pieces

Instructions

1. Rinse your fresh figs and drain. Then cut off any woody or green stems.

2. Slice the figs in 1/2 lengthwise. If the figs are large, you can quarter them. I like large fig pieces in my fig preserves. You can make them smaller if you like.

3. Place them in a pot.

4. Peel and slice the fresh ginger.

5. Add the sugar, fresh ginger, lemon juice, lemon slices, and salt.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring a little and cover, reducing heat.

7. Simmer covered for 1 hour. Stir the mixture occasionally during this process.

8. After the hour, remove the cover, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes more. The mixture will condense and thicken.

9. Then add the candied ginger while the mixture is hot. Stir in.

10. Cool completely. You want to leave the lemon slices and ginger in the preserves, as they soften and “candy” during cooking and add wonderful dimension and flavor.

11. Fill your containers and freeze the ones you are not intending to use right away. (You can follow your own directions for canning if you prefer to can them.)