The last few months have forced me considerably outside my kitchen comfort zone. I butchered (sort of) a chicken, baked cupcakes (again sort of) and… made my first jam! I was actually making this jam as part of a large and of course, slightly verbose Thomas Keller recipe, Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Fig Jam. I briefly considered buying the jam but I thought to myself, when Keller says make it from scratch, well, you make it from scratch. Overall this turned out to not be all that tricky and the hardest part was actually locating several pounds of figs in Arlington, Virginia. Note: Call ahead. Driving around desperately searching for figs is not fun. I ended my quest at the Harris Teeter in Ballston where a very nice man at customer service promised to hide them until I got there. Apparently these puppies are seriously in demand! Turns out all that fuss was worth it.
Recipe after the jump
Fig & Balsamic Jam
adapted from Ad Hoc at Home
2 pounds of figs preferably Black Mission. Remove stems and coarsely chop
1 ½ cups of granulated sugar
½ cup of balsamic vinegar
Fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns tied in a cheese cloth sachet
Combine figs, sugar, balsamic and sachet in a large sauce pan and attach a candy thermometer.
Bring to a simmer of medium to high heat then lower the to maintain a gentle simmer.
Panic because you’ve never made jam.
Restore calm and stir to break up larger figs
Continue cooking until candy thermometer reaches 215-220.
Remove sachet and a lemon juice to taste.
This can be stored up to a month
Pork loin recipe coming soon!
