Jam · Figs and orange peel · No. 07
Fig and orange jam thick enough for toast and brave enough for pork.
Black Mission figs cooked down with thin-cut orange peel until the jam sits on sourdough without soaking through. It also happens to be the right thing next to a roast loin. From $13 per 8 oz jar, cooked and jarred in Austin by three of us.
Figs go jammy fast. Orange peel keeps it honest.
Figs have almost no acid and a lot of sugar, so a fig jam cooked with nothing else turns into a flat brown paste that tastes like a dried fruit bar. The orange peel is not decoration. It brings the acid and the bitterness that stops the jar from tipping into candy.
The peel is cut as thin as we can get it, then blanched twice in fresh water and drained. That takes the raw pith edge off without removing the oil in the skin, which is where the actual orange flavour lives. The strips stay in the jam. You will see them.
Figs come in as fruit, not as paste. We trim the stems, quarter them and cook them in a wide pan with lemon juice and a small amount of sugar, roughly one part sugar to four or five parts fruit by weight. The seeds stay in. Sieving them out would give a smoother, more expensive-looking jam and a much duller one.
Fresh figs eaten out of hand are a different food. Ours arrive from California growers, and we cook them within a day or two of the delivery so the texture holds.
If it runs off a spoon held sideways, it is not finished.
- Fruit
- Black Mission figs, quartered, stems trimmed
- Additions
- Thin-cut orange peel, blanched twice, lemon juice
- Sugar to fruit
- About 1 : 4 to 1 : 5 by weight
- Set
- Thick. Spreads on bread without soaking it
- Texture
- Seedy, with orange peel cut through it
- Sizes
- 8 oz jar, 16 oz jar, 2 lb tub, 5 lb pail
- Price basis
- From $13 per 8 oz jar. Larger sizes by inquiry
- Handover
- Pickup in Austin, or Austin delivery at a flat $8 per order
An estimate, not a quote. We confirm the price by phone or email before anything is made.
It works on a breakfast table and on a dinner plate.
Most jams only do one of those. This one does both because of the peel.
Sourdough toast
A thick slice, toasted dark, jam spread while the bread is still hot. The set means it sits on top of the crumb instead of disappearing into it.
Roast pork and pork chops
Spoon it over a loin for the last ten minutes of roasting so the sugars catch without burning. For chops, deglaze the pan with a spoonful and a splash of red wine vinegar.
Fig bars
Warm the jam slightly and spread it a quarter inch thick over a shortbread base. It holds through the bake and cuts into clean squares once it cools.
Brie and crackers
Baked brie with a spoonful on top, or straight out of the jar on oat crackers. The bitterness in the peel cuts the fat better than honey does.
Thumbprints and rugelach
Thick enough to hold a well. In rugelach it stays put through the roll and the bake, which is more than most fig fillings manage.
Four sizes and what each one actually covers.
Bands are per unit before quantity breaks. Six units or more take 8% off, 24 or more 14%, 72 or more 20%. Restaurants that want the 5 lb pail should look at the note for bakers and the fill rates before deciding on a size.
Three hours, most of it watching a pan.
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01
Blanch the peel
About 25 minutesOranges are peeled with a vegetable peeler and the strips are cut to about an eighth of an inch. Two rounds of boiling in fresh water, drained between, take the harsh edge off the pith.
-
02
Trim and quarter the figs
About 45 minutes per batchStems off, hard shoulders trimmed, fruit quartered into a wide pan. Soft figs get used the same day. Firm ones wait a day in the cold to finish ripening.
-
03
Cook it down with the peel
About 2 hours on the flameSugar, lemon juice and the peel go in with the fruit. Figs scorch easily because of the sugar load, so the pan gets stirred from the bottom every few minutes, and the heat stays under medium.
-
04
Test, jar, seal
Same dayThe cold-plate test decides the finish, same as every other jar we make. Hot jam into hot jars, lids on, upside down on the rack. Nothing goes out that has not sealed.
For a fig jam you want spreadable, stop ten minutes earlier. We cook ours past that point on purpose, because a jam that runs off toast is a jam that runs off a pork loin too. If you want the looser version, say so in the inquiry and we will pull the pan sooner.
What people ask about the fig jar.
Is the orange peel bitter?
No. It is cut thin, blanched twice and then cooked in the jam, so it softens and reads as orange rather than as pith. If you have had a fig jam with harsh peel in it, it is usually because the peel went in raw.
Can I use it for fig bars?
Yes. Warm it a little, spread it about a quarter inch thick over the base, and it will not soak through before the bake sets. A 16 oz jar covers a standard half sheet tray in one layer.
Are the seeds a problem?
They are the texture of the jam. If you want a smooth fig filling you would need to sieve it, and you would lose most of what makes it worth buying. We do not make a seedless version.
Does it work in savoury cooking?
Better than most jams. The acid and the peel make it useful with pork, duck, roast squash and any cheese that needs cutting through. Warm a spoonful with vinegar for a fast pan sauce.
Is it available all year?
Yes, unlike the peach preserves, which only exist in summer. Figs in cold storage hold well enough to cook through the year, so this one stays on the board.
Ask for fig and orange by the jar or the tub.
Tell us the count, the size and the date you want it. We reply by phone or email with what is actually in the pantry and the handover. No cart, no card, nothing charged online.
68 Oak Lane, Office 12Austin, Texas 86853