Fig Jam

This weekend the figs were more expensive at the market so I am guessing that fig season is coming to an end. I of course picked some up. I wanted to try making an interesting looking fig jam that I had seen here. Up till now I have not tried adding spices to a jam and I wanted to try it. I was also intrigued by the idea of cooking the jam in the microwave.

Cooking the jam in the microwave actually turned out to be more challenging than cooking it on the stove. I had to watch it very carefully. If I took my eyes off of it, it would boil over the sides of the container leaving a really sticky mess to clean out of the microwave. After about 9 minutes the jam would come to the point were it was about to boil over with in 30 seconds and I would have to stop it and stir.

Despite the sticky mess, the jam turned out pretty good. It ended up setting better that the other jams that I tried making this summer. I liked the spices and the chunks of figs in the jam. I tried dipping gruyere cheese sticks into the jam and it was pretty good.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh figs (quartered, I used 4 green and 4 brown figs)
1/2 cup orange (peeled, seeded, and diced)
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon butter

Directions:
1. Place everything in a microwavable container and mix.
2. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
3. Microwave for 15 minutes at high. When it starts to boil stop the microwave and stir the jam. Repeat until the jam thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. (Note: Be careful and watch the jam as it can quickly boil over.)
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.