What to Do with Fresh Figs?

What to do with fresh figs? Well, you can eat them, of course. If you are growing figs in Virginia or anywhere else, one thing is clear: the harvest begins in late summer and continues into the fall. The abundance from one or two small fig trees is astonishing. Here’s what to do with fresh figs and a roundup of clever ideas and recipes (including one of my own).

Fresh Figs: Make and Can Fig Preserves

Fresh figs can be preserved in syrup, like peaches or pears, or made into preserves. I made fig preserves from the recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Canning. This is a two-day recipe, so plan your time accordingly. On day one, you pick and boil the figs, then rinse under cold water – basically, you are blanching them. Then you make a sugar syrup and boil them, then cover and let them sit overnight. Day two is canning them. The full recipe is in the book.

Ball provides a slight variation on the recipe on their website: Fig Jam Canning Recipe.

Fig jam tastes wonderful – sweet, figgy, and lemony all in one. The recipe made nine half pints for us and we had some jam leftover so we put it into the fridge.

If your fig trees are overflowing with ripe figs, try canning them as preserves.

This is another recipe from Ball that looks amazing – fig, red wine, and rosemary preserves!

Fig Dessert Recipes

I have a special French fig and cantaloupe salad with basil-lemon dressing that is out of this world! You must try it, especially if you grew cantaloupes this year, too. If you have fresh figs, basil, and cantaloupe, get ready for an explosion of summer flavor in every bite!

Bake Delicious Fig Treats

I haven’t made these recipes yet, but if my Chicago Hardy fig trees keep producing so abundantly, I will try them this week. Here are some that look wonderful and use ingredients found in most kitchens, or ingredients that you can find easily in any supermarket.

Fig Cake from The Mediterranean Dish

Roasted Fig Sundaes from The Food Network

Simple Roasted Figs from David Lebovitz

Storing Fresh Figs

To store fresh figs, place them in a shallow dish in a single layer. Refrigerate. They are fragile, and will become over ripe quickly, so eat them fresh or try them in one of these recipes as soon as you can. Enjoy!