How to Preserve Figs

Опубликовал Admin
20-08-2021, 02:30
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Figs are a delicious fruit that have many nutritional benefits. If you’re looking to preserve the fruit for later, you have several options. If you’d prefer to freeze the figs, you can store them on their own or submerged in a sugar syrup. If you’d rather store your figs in the pantry, try canning them instead. Enjoy using your figs for several more months!

Freezing Plain Figs

  1. Wash off the fresh figs before preserving them. Set the fruit in a colander and place it under cool running water. After rinsing off any visible dust, use a paper towel to dry off each piece of fruit. If the stems are still attached, go ahead and remove them with a small knife.
    • If you’d like to remove the outer skin, peel away the outer layer in the same way that you’d peel a banana.
  2. Arrange the figs on a lined baking sheet. Take a sheet of parchment or wax paper and lay it on the surface of the cookie sheet. Next, line the figs on the baking sheet, leaving the fruit side-by-side. Try not to stack any of the figs, as this might slow down the freezing process.
    • If you have a lot of figs on hand, try freezing them in batches.
  3. Let the figs freeze overnight. Place the baking sheet(s) onto an empty shelf in your freezer. Before you close the door, check that no precarious or heavy items could fall and crush the figs. Leave them in the appliance overnight, or until they’re firm to the touch.
    • The freezing time will vary for figs of different sizes. For instance, smaller figs will freeze more quickly than large figs.
  4. Stir ¾ tsp (3 g) of ascorbic acid into 3 teaspoons (15 mL) of water. Pour a small amount of water into a bowl. Add ¾ tsp (3 g) of ascorbic acid into the water, mixing both ingredients together as you go. Continue stirring until the acid is completely dissolved into the water.
    • You can set this bowl aside for later, as you won’t need it immediately.
    • This mixture will act as a preservative for 1 US quart (950 mL) of figs.
  5. Sprinkle the acid solution over the figs. Place 1 US quart (950 mL) of figs in a freezer-safe container to prepare the fruit for storage. Drizzle the preservative ascorbic acid mixture over the fruit to keep the figs from browning in storage. If you’re preparing a lot of figs for safekeeping, you might need to have several storage containers on hand.
    • In a pinch, you can use freezer-safe plastic bags, as well. Be sure to leave enough space on the top of the bag so you can seal it off properly!
  6. Freeze the figs for 6-8 months. Once all of your frozen figs are in place, seal off the container with the lid. Make sure to push out any trapped air as you close it. Label the closed container so you can remember how old the figs are.
    • Check the bottom of the container to see if it has a safety label. Certain types of storage basins will be labeled with a “freezer-safe” icon.

Freezing in Syrup

  1. Rinse and dry off the figs to get them clean. Place your figs in a colander and rinse them under cool running water to remove any dust and dirt. Once you’ve rinsed off any obvious dust, blot each fig dry with a paper towel or clean dishrag. At this point, you can also use a small knife to remove the stem at the top of each fig.
    • Feel free to peel the figs if you so desire. To remove the skin, hold the fruit in one hand while using your free hand to peel away the outer layer of the fig.
  2. Boil 4 cups (950 mL) of water on the stovetop. Pour a large amount of water into a medium-sized saucepan. Turn your stovetop onto the highest heat setting, and place the lid on top of the saucepan. Wait for the water to reach a boiling temperature before adding in any ingredients.
    • Boiling water will be actively steaming, and will have many large bubbles floating to the surface.
  3. Dissolve 2¾ cups (550 g) of white sugar into the water. Take a large amount of granulated white sugar and dump it into the boiling water. Start stirring in the sugar with a wooden spoon to help the dissolving process along. Watch the saucepan as your stir, keeping an eye on the appearance and consistency of the mixture.
    • Try to avoid stirring with a metal spoon, as you could end up burning yourself.
  4. Stir the ingredients together until they form a syrup. Keep mixing the sugar and water together until the consistency begins to change. Examine the texture of the mixture as you stir, and take note of how runny or thick it is. Once the sugar and water mixture resembles a syrup, you can turn off the stovetop.
    • This sugar syrup will be the same consistency as chocolate syrup, and other syrup products.
  5. Add ascorbic acid or lemon juice to the syrup as a preservative. Take ¾ tsp (3 g) of ascorbic acid or 0.25 cups (59 mL) of lemon juice and add it into the syrup. Stir the preservative ingredient until it’s fully dissolved into the sugar mixture.
    • The lemon juice and ascorbic acid help prevent the fruit from browning and wilting in storage.
  6. Arrange the figs into a freezer-safe container. Take your washed figs and stack them in a freezer-safe plastic container or glass jar. Try to leave enough space along the top of this container, so there’s room for the syrup.
    • If there are too many figs in 1 container, then you won’t be able to cover them all completely with the sugar syrup.
    • Use more than 1 container if you’re planning on storing a lot of figs at once.
  7. Pour syrup over the figs until they’re completely covered. Take the syrup and dump it into the plastic container or glass jar. Watch to make sure that the mixture completely drenches and envelopes the figs. Aim to leave 0.5 to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 cm) of space at the surface, so you can securely close the containers.
    • Try to avoid overflowing the containers with syrup.
  8. Seal the containers and freeze them for 6-8 months. Place the lid or top on your designated fig containers and push out any extra air from the surface. Once you’ve sealed the containers, label them with the current date so you remember how long they’ve been preserved.

Canning Figs in Syrup

  1. Clean off the figs to get rid of any dirt. Set your ripe figs in a colander and rinse them under a stream of cool water. Continuing washing the fruit until there’s no visible dirt, then blot the figs dry with a paper towel. Don’t worry about removing the skin or stem for the canning process.
    • Unlike other preservation methods, figs keep their stems and skins attached when canned.
  2. Fill a large pot with water and set it to boil. Take an 8 to 12 US quarts (7,600 to 11,400 mL) pot and fill it at least halfway with water. Turn the stovetop onto the highest heat, and wait for the water to reach a rolling boil. Make sure that there’s enough water in the pot to fully cover all of your figs.
    • When the water reaches a rolling boil, it will be steaming and bubbling uncontrollably.
  3. Place the unpeeled figs into the hot water for 2 minutes. Take your cleaned figs and dump them into the pot of water. Set a timer for 2 minutes, and wait for the fruit to boil. Don’t skip this step, as boiling the figs helps them to become soft and a little mushy, which is necessary for canning. Once you’ve boiled the figs, strain out the excess water.
    • Don’t leave the figs in the water for too long.
  4. Dissolve sugar into some water to make a light syrup. Pour 1 US quart (950 mL) of water into a large, separate pot or saucepan. Turn the stovetop onto the highest heat and wait for the water to boil. Next, pour 1 cup (198 g) of white granulated sugar into the hot water. Continue stirring the sugar into the water until it forms a thick, syrupy consistency.
    • Wait for all of the sugar to dissolve before continuing. You don’t want any grains of sugar to be visible in the syrup.
    • If you’re planning on canning a lot of figs, double or triple this batch. Make sure you have enough syrup to fully coat all of your figs.
  5. Soak the figs in the syrup for 5 minutes. Submerge the fruit into the light syrup, making sure that the figs are completely covered. Continue stirring the fruit into the boiling mixture for 5 minutes. If you want to be exact, try setting a timer as a reminder.
  6. Add a preservative to the syrup to keep the fruit from browning. Pour 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of lemon juice into the fig-syrup mixture. Drizzle an even amount over all of the fruit before stirring it in. If you’d prefer, you can use ½ tsp (6.6 g) of citric acid powder instead of lemon juice.
    • If you’re preparing a smaller amount of figs, be sure to use a smaller amount of preservative.
  7. Fill some clean jars with the figs and syrup. Pour the fig-syrup mixture into however many jars are needed. Try and fill the containers as much as possible, leaving 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) of space at the surface of the jar. Once all of the jars are filled, take a damp rag or paper towel and wipe any excess off of the jar rims. Finally, tightly secure a lid on each jar to provide a seal for the canned figs.
  8. Try to eat the figs within 1 year of preserving them. Label your jars so you can remember how old the canned figs are. Keep your canned fruit in a dry and cool place, where it won’t come into contact with sunlight. While your canned figs will taste best in the first year, you can still eat them within the first 2-3 years. Always check the fruit to ensure that there’s no foul odor wafting out of the jar.
    • Ideally, try and keep your canned food in an area that’s 50 to 70 °F (10 to 21 °C), like a basement or pantry.

Ingredients

Ascorbic Acid Preservative

  • ¾ tsp (3 g) of ascorbic acid
  • 3 teaspoons (15 mL) of water

Light Sugar Syrup

  • 1 cup (198 g) of white sugar
  • 1 US quart (950 mL) of water

Heavy Sugar Syrup

  • 4 cups (950 mL) of water
  • 2¾ cups (550 g) of white sugar
  • ¾ tsp (3 g) of ascorbic acid
  • 0.25 cups (59 mL) of lemon juice

Tips

Things You’ll Need

Freezing the Fruit

  • Small knife
  • Colander
  • Paper towel
  • Parchment or wax paper
  • Baking sheet
  • Freezer-safe containers
  • Labels

Storing in Syrup

  • Small knife
  • Colander
  • Paper towel
  • Freezer-safe containers
  • Labels

Canning the Figs

  • Colander
  • Paper towel
  • Large pot
  • Large saucepan
  • Boiling water canner (optional)
  • Glass jars
  • Jar lids
  • Citric acid powder (optional)
  • Lemon juice
  • Labels
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