Is there an abundance of figs in your backyard? Make this Unripe Fig Jam Recipe with some of them before they get ripe. You will be amazed with the result. Nothing like you've tasted before. A great sweet snack or a garnish for your crepes and pancakes.
Jams have a special place in the category of Turkish desserts, they are one of the staple breakfast food. Check out our mulberry jam recipe, orange jam recipe and lemon jam recipe, which are perfect with cakes. Also our plum jam made with butter is great on toasted bread. All are made without pectin.
We love that green color of this unripe fig jam! Most people think that unripe fruits are worthless. Wrong for unripe figs! This jam is unbelievable! Try it and see it yourself!
What Is Unripe Fig Jam?
When I saw unripe figs at the open market today, I decided to make this fig jam. A village woman was selling it. She told that she picked these unripe figs up from the tree in their village. She had no scales, just 2 bags of figs in front of her.
She said each bag weighs 1 kilo (2,20 pound), and her word was enough for me, no need to weigh on a scale. I bought one of the bags, but I had never made unripe fig jam before although I ate many times.
Luckily enough, that lady gave me the instructions providing that I would come back and tell her the result. Proud to say that I've succeeded. A bowl of the jam would be a nice gift for her, right?
You might find it weird to make jam of unripe figs, but I can tell that you don’t feel any unripeness when you taste it. We call it jam, but I think it can also be included in category of desserts as I love to eat it not just at breakfast but also during day with cream, ice cream or plain.
Btw did you know anything about the benefits of unripe fig sap, that sticky white liquid. It is helpful in the treatment of skin warts. Just drop it on the wart and see the result.
How To Prepare Unripe Figs
We need to prepare the unripe figs before starting to make the jam.
Wash the figs well and cut off their stems.
Fill a large pot with water, bring it to a boil and put the figs in it. Let them simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer them into a large bowl filled with cold water.
When they are cool enough to touch, squeeze the figs gently to remove their bitter taste. You can make tiny holes on figs with a needle if you like and then squeeze. This will help the bitter juice to release easier.
Repeat this step one more time. Boil some water in a pot, put the figs in it. Let them simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, transfer into cold water and then squeeze one by one.
This squeezing part might take a long time, but if you are passionate enough, you’ll see it is worth.
Making Unripe Fig Jam
Meanwhile you can start to boil water (1100 ml) and sugar (1 kilo) together in a different pot. After it boils, add the squeezed figs in it.
You will see that these figs turn back into their original shape in this boiling syrup. Put the cloves with the figs to give this jam an outstanding flavor. Let them simmer for about 25-30 minutes. Finally, add lemon juice and boil it 5 minutes more.
Storing
Let the unripe fig jam cool completely and fill it in jars. First put the figs into jars and then pour the syrup over each jar, trying to share it evenly.
You can keep the jars at room temperature, at a dry and dark place. We love it cold, so we keep it in refrigerator.
Serving
This unripe fig jam makes a wonderful breakfast on toasted bread.
You can serve it with some walnuts and clotted cream or dondurma (Turkish ice cream) on the side.
More Fig Recipes
More Sweet Recipes
- Turkish Baklava
- Ayva Tatlisi (Quince Dessert)
- Turkish Pumpkin Dessert
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📖 Recipe
Unripe Fig Jam
A scrumptious green jam with unripe figs.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 medium sized jars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
- 1 kilo (2,20 pounds) unripe fig
- 1 kilo (2,20 pounds) sugar
- 1100 ml water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 4 cloves
Instructions
- Clean the figs and take off their stems.
- Put the figs in boiling water for 10 minutes. After that, move them to cold water. When they're cool, squeeze them to get rid of the bitter taste. If you want, make small holes in the figs before squeezing. This can make squeezing easier.
- Do this again: Boil the figs for 10 minutes, then move to cold water and squeeze each one.
- Squeezing takes time, but it's worth it. Next, boil water (1100 ml) with sugar (1 kilo) in another pot. When it's boiling, add the squeezed figs.
- The figs will look normal in this sweet boiling water. Add cloves for extra taste. Let them boil for 25-30 minutes. Then add lemon juice and boil 5 more minutes. Let the fig jam cool.
- Put the figs in jars and pour the sweet water over them.
- Store the jars in a cool, dark place. We like the jam cold, so we put it in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 jar
- Calories: 1154
- Sugar: 290.2 g
- Sodium: 17.5 mg
- Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 298.3 g
- Protein: 1.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
lora says
I tried the recipe and it failed big time. The figs were falling apart when i squeezed them. They were also incredibly sticky. Then the syrup was not tick at all - looked more like a fig compote. Not sweet also. I have had many times unripe fig jam bought from the store but this was nothing like this. Any ideas why all this happened? Thanks
Jeanne says
Perhaps you used the figs the the female tree, the ones that grow in autumn?
dokuzuncubulut says
Tebrik ederim Zerrin. Senin adına çok sevindim:)) Allah sağlıklı, mutlu, uzun bir ömür versin minik bebeğimize...
İncir reçelini eşim çok sever, annesi yapıp verir ama, ben hiç denemedim. Çok lezzetli görünüyor, ellerine sağlık olsun. Sevgiler.
Lea says
Hello Zerrin!
Thank you so much for the recipe! My figs are no longer ripening on the tree now that the evenings are so much cooler here in California. One woman at church told me there was really nothing to be done with unripe figs (I obviously asked the wrong person about what to do!). But then I stumbled upon your site... thank you!! I am happy now that I know I won't have to "waste" the beautiful figs on my tree!
Although it's over a year since you've become an aunt, I extend my congratulations and wish your neice a long and happy life - God grant her many years!
Zerrin says
Gourmet Mama- Hope you love it when you try.
Chef chong- Yes, it definitely takes the unripeness of figs.
Jennifer- This is a great way to use unripe figs, hope you love it when you try. It can even be eaten as a dessert after meal. I know that walnut dessert you mentioned, but don't have the courage to try it yet as it is not an easy one.
Yael- I'm glad to hear that you and your family loved my unripe fig jam/dessert. It is definitely scrumptious, but I couldn't make it this summer. Wish I could taste yours:)
yael says
thanx a lot for the recipe. the family went mad about it and now making it for the second time.
great recipe
yael
Jennifer says
It has been a very mild summer here in California and our fig tree has not had anything ripe yet! I am glad to find this recipe and can't wait to try it out on all our unripe figs. On a trip to Turkey 2 years ago we ate figs like this and also eggplant and walnut. The walnuts (ceviz) were outstanding!! They, too, were made from unripe fruit. I would love to find a recipe for the walnuts too. Thank you so much for your recipe!
Chef Chong says
I love your idea of boiling the figs, to get rid of those green taste. Thanks.
Gourmet Mama says
This recipe is perfect, since I just found some fresh figs at the market. I didn't know what to look for, though, and it turns out they are all unripe. I will definitely be making this recipe!
Faith says
Congrats on becoming an aunt! I love figs, and I am always looking for new recipes to use them. This dish sounds delicious!
Zerrin says
Hi Stephanie,
I love that idea of exchanging jam, it's so exciting! I read the info about this event on your blog, you say we can join even if we're in different countries. I'm living in Turkey, please check if your post service says ok to sending something to Turkey.
I'll ask our post service, too if I can send something like food to abroad .
Then we can clarify if I can join it or not.
stephchows says
HI! Seriously interesting recipe! I'm hosting a jam exchange this month and was wondering if you'd like to join in?? I'm trying to gather a whole bunch of people and all it takes is being willing to mail 2 jars of jam to someone. All the info to sign up is here: http://stephchows.blogspot.com/2009/07/jam-exchange.html
Hope you can join in!
Magdalena says
Zerrin,
Thank you for this recipe! Since I moved to Bulgaria 4 years ago (from Southern California), it has become one of my favourites -- but until you posted this, I had never considered making it...
The next day, there were green figs at the market! And it all works perfectly 🙂
Congrats on the recipe and on being an aunt.
Magdalena
Zerrin says
Hi Magdalena,
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and writing a comment. I had a very busy and tiring day today and when I saw your very nice comment, I forgot all my tiredness. Such comments always encourage me to go on what I'm doing in this blog.
Happy to hear that you love my recipe and it worked well. I'm sure your fig jam is so yummy. If you have any questions about any of my recipes, feel free to ask.
Bulgaria is one of our closest neighbor countries and I'm so curious about it. Hope to see there one day.
Cheers from Turkey
Zerrin says
Thank you Veronica for warning. It should have been 5 and half cups of water. I'm correcting it right now.
Veronica says
5 and a half what of water? I see you have written it several places...
Bob says
It’s 5 1/2 cups! I had the same problem in finding it. The recipe is below the cooking instructions.