Thursday 15 October 2015

Preserved Fresh Figs in Sherry

Fresh Figs Preserved in Sherry

Now who doesn't love a nice mason jar?  One glance on Pinterest will bring up thousands of ways to style them, craft with them and use them to give gifts in. 99% of those mason jars you see on Pinterest will undoubtably be the iconic Ball brand, but whilst they are prevalent in the US, they're not so easy to track down here in the UK. Until now.

Lakeland are now selling Ball mason jars exclusively in the UK, so make sure you pop along or order online so you can join the in-crowd.

Much as I love using them for all kinds of decor and crafts, they are of course designed as preserving jars.  I went along to a demonstration by Ball to see just how easy they are to use to preserve food for up to one year.

If like me, you like to make the most of seasonal produce and have a glut of certain foods from the farmer's market, veg box delivery, your garden or allotment, then preserving in Ball jars is perfect.  My freezer is already groaning under the weight of foraged plums and blackberries so I was definitely needing a new way to store and extend the life of fresh produce.

So far I've made soups (with the glut of tomatoes from the garden) and jam (from my hedgerow raids) but I'm now thinking ahead to Christmas food and gifts.

You can get a starter kit from Lakeland for £19.99 which contains all the equipment you need to get started, and four 240ml jars with seal lids. The process is simple, sterilise your jars and lids in a pan of boiling water.  The jars sit in a plastic basket which prevents them from touching the base of the pan and cracking in the heat, and also acts as a tool to easily lift them. Fill with your homemade product, place the lid on, screw the cap over and return to the water to process them.

Ball Preserving Jar Starter Kit

My recipe below uses fresh figs which are in season right now.  You can pick them up cheaply in supermarkets, mine cost 69p for four.  Figs in sherry are perfect as a decadent dessert with good vanilla ice cream, or strain them off and serve with your cheese board.  They also make an indulgent addition to a goats cheese salad, or a lovely gift for a foodie friend.  Make them now and they'll be perfect for Christmas.

Fresh Figs Preserved in Sherry

Ingredients (makes 2 x 490ml jars):

Approx 12 fresh figs
300g sugar
250ml good quality, aged sherry (my favourite is a Taste the Difference 12 Year Old Sweet Pedro Ximenez from Sainsburys)
150ml water

Method:

Place your jars in a large jam pan to sterilise.

Remove the stem from the figs and cut in half lengthways.

In another pan, heat the water and the sugar until dissolved.  Once the syrup starts to bubble, pour in the sherry and add the fig halves.

Gently poach for around 5 minutes.  You'll need to reduce this time if your fruit is particularly ripe, you want the figs to hold their shape.

Poached Figs

Remove from the heat.

Lift your jars and drain off any water.

Gently place the figs inside using a spoon.  Fill almost to the top then pour in the sherry syrup to fill the jars to the recommended height.  You want to cover the fruit in syrup.

Gently screw on the lids and return to the boiling water to process for a further 15 minutes. Ensure the water fully covers the jars.

Carefully lift out your jars and allow to cool fully.

Fresh Figs Preserved in Sherry

Disclosure: I attended a workshop with Ball Preserving Jars and they gifted me a starter set.  

23 comments:

  1. I love the idea of set you mentioned, my MIL would love this *adds to Christmas list*

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    1. Oh yes, it would make an excellent Christmas gift.

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  2. Oh wow what an fantastic idea, I wouldn't even know where to start on preserving things, but that set looks amazing. x

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    1. It's so easy @sarah-Louise. The kit gives step-by-step instructions and there's loads of recipes for different things. It's my new favourite thing. I need a bigger pantry!

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  3. That is definitely going on my Christmas list.

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  4. Oh these sound delicious, i will have to rely them. Love the jars x

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  5. I am off to the forest next week to learn more about foraging and I am really looking forward to it. Maybe I need to invest in this kit to get me going.

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  6. I don't like figs, but I LOVE sherry! We jarred some tomato pasata we made a couple of years ago. I love preserving what we have grown

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  7. Oooh this sounds delicious!

    We have a couple of these smaller jars filled with various body scrubs that my 13 year old has made x

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  8. You know I never even considered doing this and you are right my freezer is groaning - thanks for sharing.

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  9. I've never heard of a Mason jar! That's probably because I never look at Pinterest! They look fabulous, but as a teetotaller, this is something I will never do!

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  10. Sounds a great idea. Not a figs fan but maybe this would change that

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  11. Never thought about preserving fruit before - I do like making pickled onions though

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  12. What a lovely recipe. Figs in any form will do me and while I've never thought of preserving them in sherry I'm prepared to give it a go.

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  13. I have a mania for jars and had aspired to try and preserve so much but just didn't get round to it. I've never had figs but sounds delicious with the ice cream.

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  14. I love figs, so the chances of me ever preserving them are slim. This however looks fantastic x

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  15. A lovely idea! I keep meaning to branch out a bit in the preserves line as I mostly make jams and chutneys.

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  16. Oooh lucky me, I do have some Lakeland vouchers so I'll definitely keep an eye out for these!

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  17. this would be perfect for making homemade gifts for someone, I love this idea but have never tried anything like this myself! x

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  18. oh my i am a total sucker for mason jar and figs are one of my faves :-)

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  19. OH I NEED! The figs and the posh preserving jars to boot! Once half term is over I'm cracking on with Christmas hampers and these figs sound gurt lush.

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  20. ive never really fancied figs but i bet this is lovely

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