If you're craving figs year round, here are 7 Fig Recipes: Not Just For Fig Season. From jarred preserves to freshly baked desserts, these recipes are easy to follow and always deliver delicious results!
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Stretching The Fig Season
Figs are one of the South's best and most prized fruits. (And my fave!) Their prime time for harvesting in the south is mid to late summer. That makes craving them more challenging in the middle of winter.
Thankfully, there are ways to enjoy these sweet little gems throughout the year, even if they aren't fresh.
Since figs are prevalent in South Louisiana, these recipes come from family favorites and a few creations from my kitchen. Because I like cooking new things with this particular fruit, you'll find surprising ingredients, like red hots in the fig jam and thumbprint cookies that taste like fig tarts. But first things first.
What Can I Do With Fresh Figs Off The Tree?
Picking figs is a fun chore that I learned as a child. The only thing I don't like is the sticky, itchy feeling they leave on my hands. That uncomfortable feeling soon passes after I wash up and eat the fruits of my labor.
After gathering figs from the tree, they need cleaning. I like giving them a soak with baking soda added to the water to help remove that sticky outer coating. A good rinse with fresh water cleans them well, then spread them on a towel to dry before storing.
After drying, put them in a shallow container, not piling them too high. They need air circulating between them. Immediately place them in the refrigerator for a day or two. Keep them refrigerated for a short time. The figs will spoil quickly if the refrigerator's temperature exceeds 40° F.
Or, place them in an airtight plastic bag to freeze. They keep well for over a year in the freezer and perform excellently preserved in a jam or jelly.
Do You Eat Fig Skin?
Fresh figs are a perfect snack. They can be eaten with the skin on, but don't eat the stem. They have no flavor and can be fibrous. Some recipes, like Strawberry Fig Jam call for peeled figs. It's a little more time-consuming, but worth it.
I eat figs with their skin in my morning oatmeal with pecans. This is delicious with very little sugar or sweetener added!
How Do You Use Overripe Figs?
You need to remove any overripe figs that may have spoiled. If they are only mushy, you can cook with them. The mushy, unspoiled ones are usually sweeter and more flavorful.
The 7 Fig Recipes
Making FIG PRESERVES is easy. Cook them with fresh or frozen figs and sugar, and pack them into sterilized jars to enjoy year-round. They can be eaten on a hot buttered biscuit or baked into a delicious fig cake like the one below.
2. FIG CAKE
This is a traditional southern cake made with fig preserves whose flavor and moistness intensify after it's baked.
My Maw-maw always baked hers in a bundt pan, but it makes a delicious layered cake topped with Cinnamon Whipped Cream and a Praline Glaze; this is my own rendition.
Preserving fresh or frozen figs with this STRAWBERRY FIG JAM is a tease. These jars will fool anyone into thinking they're eating strawberry preserves made with fresh berries. Cooking the figs with strawberry jello does the trick! We like it on ice cream, buttered toast, hot biscuits, or COUCHE-COUCHE, A CAJUN DELICACY. You need to check that recipe out, too!
You can enjoy these little thumbprint FIG TART COOKIES with less work but all the taste of an old-fashioned sweet dough tart filled with fig preserves. Once, I tried to make classic Cajun French fig tarts. The attempt was unsuccessful. So I shortened the process. I made my sugar cookie recipe and added some nutmeg to it. These taste just like sweet tart dough.
For a warm, sweet finish, top off a cold block of cream cheese with pepper jelly made with figs, honey, and jalapeno pepper. You can eat it this way with crackers or use the jelly as a dip for chicken strips, a sweet and sour sauce, or warmed up over ice cream.
This FRESH FIG BREAD is a simple, quick bread for summer-time eating. The figs bake into a soft and delicious buttery loaf with the sweet taste of vanilla. No figs? No Problem! You can substitute fresh strawberries at any time of year with this quick bread recipe.
Marrying the fig with red hot cinnamon candies brings this surprisingly delicious RED HOT FIG JAM to life. Use it to top a block of cream cheese or stuff it into your morning biscuit. It's even good on freshly baked, crusty cornbread. Yes, it is!
That's A Wrap
I hope these 7 Fig Recipes: Not Just For Fig Season inspire you to eat more figs in different ways throughout the year.
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Have a nice day!
Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.
Andrew Murray
