Summer is almost over so preserving those flavors in freezer jam is my newest fun and easy go-to. I wanted to make it a bit more healthy so I brought in my good friend, HealthVolution’s Christal Forti to take on Chunky Fig freezer jam using honey instead of processed sugar. The results are outstanding!
When using any sweetener but sugar, you’ll just have to buy a pectin for low sugar/other sweetener option. There are several brands but we used Pomona Universal Pectin which is vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and preservative free. Each box will see you through 2-4 batches of jam – pretty good!
Here’s how:
INGREDIENTS:
• About 26 fresh figs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 package pectin for low sugar or other sweeteners
• 3/4 cup water
• empty jars with lids to hold about 40 oz. jam
DIRECTIONS:
1) Wash and chop figs to measure 4 cups.
2) In a bowl, add figs with honey and mix well.
3) The pectin pack has an envelope of white calcium powder. Place contents in an empty jar with 1/2 cup water and shake it up. Put to the side.
4) Add water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour water into blender or food processor and add 3 teaspoons pectin powder. Blend for 1-2 minutes to fully dissolve.
5) Add pectin to figs honey mixture and mix well.
6) Grab your jar of white calcium mixture and add 4 teaspoons to the figs honey mixture. Mix well – it will start to gel (if you want a thicker gel, add more).
6) Fill the jars/containers – leave about 1/2” empty from the top for expansion – and cover with lids.
7) Refrigerate or freeze. Will last 3 weeks in the fridge, up to a year in the freezer.
This jam is really good. You can make it less chunky if you chop up the figs finer of course. The richness of the flavors are intoxicating. I will enjoy this not only on various crackers and breads, but spooned over a grilled pork chop! Yeah… Chunky Fig Freezer Jam is “figgin'” great!
Thanks to Christal for jammin’ with me!
Yum!
Annette
Yummy!