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
Don Owen says
I just boiled the figs in water for 5 min, drained them and boiled again for 5 min and drained them. Squashed them down with a masher then covered them with water noting how many cups of water used and added the same number of cups sugar. Boiled for 15 min and added the juice of a lemon. Used a barmix to turn the mixture into smooth jam and added some cloves then bottled.
Turned out pretty good and putting the jam on top of a scone plus a dollop of cream.........bliss!
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Oh wow! You made a great twist on our recipe. Thank you for sharing with us!
Sue says
I’ve had an amazing abundance of ripe figs this year. But now the frost has struck and we’ve had freezing temps every night for a week and at least two more nights before we get a break. My question is can I use the unripe figs that are still on the tree for these recipes even after they’ve been subjected to freezing temps?
Zerrin & Yusuf says
Hi Sue,
Well, not sure about the figs subjected to freezing. Do you think their inside is still in good condition? If not, we don't think any recipe would work for them.
Sorry 🙁
Tom Kinsky says
Sue, I would say give it a shot. We're in coastal MA and had 2 nights at least of freezing temps before I harvested my unripe figs. Just made the recipe and it seems to have come out fine. Good luck either way.
Saartjie van den Bergh says
I learned to cut a cross at the bottom of the figs and let it sit in some bicarb solution overnight. Rinse very well the next morning and then cook them. Always come out lovely. Hope it help.
Isobel says
Thank you, Saartjie! I did that with my batch from last year and it turned out amazing!
Jeanne says
These are not unripe fig but "HAM İNCİR" also called "ERKEK INCIR", our locals call them "DELI INCIR". These are here in spring time like now, I have just picked 1 kilo and I am going to make a jam again. The figs to eat in autumn grow on other fig trees 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. I make them with the skin of an orange cut is tiny cubes.
AJ says
Thanks for this post! Been given bucketloads of figs this year from someone's garden, and the last batch had a lot of unripe ones so came across this when searching for ideas. I used this recipe as a base but made up the rest lol. Probably one of my fav fig recipes so far (fig pear date nut crumble is on par!)
Here's whats I did:
SPICED FIG JAM
200g unripe figs (probably can use ripe too)
Cut up small and boil in water for 10 mins. Drain and squash as much as you can. (I got lazy and didn't do a second round, figured they were cut up so didn't need to).
Then put in pan again with:
2 pieces clove
2 cardamom
Small stick cinnamon
A few tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
Small handful slivered almonds
1 handful raisins
Add some water and leave to cook on low heat with lid on for 25 mins. Remove lid and cook a little longer till thick like jam.
Sweeten more if you need to.
Nomnomnom : )
Yusuf says
Wow! You created a completely new recipe, which is AMAZING! A brilliant twist! Thank you for the sahre!
Sue says
I boiled and tried to squeeze - nothing came out. Everything is coated in sticky sap that is difficult to get off. I had to use gloves to squeeze after an hour of boiling and got a small amount of juice out of it. I decided to boil longer as I didn't want tough skins when the sugar was added. Despite the figs being in a sweet syrup they do not really absorb the sweet taste much and are weird in texture. The jam has not set.
Stephanie says
How long should they set before eating?
Denise Heeren says
I’m confused. Why is the unripe fig jam called “jam” when in the end it seems that the figs are left whole? I have made a couple of batches of fig jam this season and hate to see my green unripe figs go to waste. Do the figs remain whole or does it cook down into jam? Thanks for your help!
Yusuf says
Hi Denise, thank you for this question. Well, in Turkish cuisine, any fruit preserve like this is called jam. We even love to see the fruit whole in jams. That's the reason we name it as jam. But you can definitely think it as an unripe fig preserve.
Christine Grogan says
hi i have my unripe figs all ready to go but have no idea what 5 1/2 cups of water means ..what size is the cup ?
using uk measurements... help please !
Yusuf says
Hi Christine. We use 250ml cup in that recipe.
Christine Grogan says
Thank you so much !
I’m going in now .... figs at the ready wish me luck 😊
Lindy Lee says
It's now Autumn in the UK and have just harvested 3kgs of unripe figs from our small fig tree. I've tried squeezing after boiling but nothing comes out, I assume this is because they are too far down the ripening process already (some are pink inside). Are the hairy bits still meant to be there? In the photo with the recipe, it looks like the centre bits are removed? Would love some help 🙂
Yusuf says
Hi Lindy! Se squeeze them just to remove the bitterness. Repeat the same steps(boiling and squeezing) two times. Nothing has to come out but water when they are squeezed. So I guess your figs are perfect for this recipe. We don't remove anything from the inside. We don't even cut them when cooking, keep them whole. Hope these help.
Lucy says
Same! Did the double boil squeeze thing. Nothing came out. Then boiled in sugar and water. Centre of figs still inedible, dry and hairy. Boiled another 30 mins checking each time. Still inedible. Did you find a solution?
rm gard says
cannot print this recipe. goes to instruction 5. rest is present on my screen, but hidden by cookies notification and nutrition facts block.
Yusuf says
Thank you for the heads up! Working on it.
TASA says
HI, So glad i saw this recipe as most of the figs on my tree have not ripened. So, I have boiled my figs twice and theres no way the contents are squeezing out without destroying the fig itself. So i cut off the stem and made a small hole in the bottom (the little scab) and boiled again. still not squeezing with destroying. I didn't have time to finish making them yesterday so kept in the fridge overnight. I've just tasted one from the fridge as i intend to finish making today without squeezing, as they taste fine. I think my main concern is that by boiling 3 times that the toxicity of the sap will be removed?
Natasha Ridley says
How long do these keep in jars ? Thanks for the recipe ! X
Yusuf says
These keep well in a dry and cool place for months.
KR says
I think the squeezing is not just to get the 'latex' like white milk out but to get the hairy 'choke' out of the middle - much like a beard/choke in an artichoke that has to be removed to best bits. I've followed directions (thank you!) with small unripe figs. Cutting one open I can taste how the external part is soft and sweet - almost like Angelica, but the centre is still pale and hairy - not bitter - but not very tasty. I can't see how you could squeeze all that hairy stuff out so I'm assuming that it is meant to suck up the sugar syrup and transform into something edible. Is that what happens? I'm tempting to cook it for a lot longer.
Christa says
Thanks for all the info as to how to use green unripe figs. I have a tree full of them and thought there is nothing I can do with them. That would be such a waste. Will go out tomorrow and pick them and use them in one of your recipes. We had a small crop ripen in early July and now this abundance. We live on Vancouver Island and it is already cold out there.