Nothing goes as planned – except for Moran’s Fig Jam
It had been one of those days! The kind where you plan to have everything go according to plan, a well thought-out timeline but nothing, just nothing goes right. Really. Everything got delayed, postponed, canceled, switched…I could go on and on about what I had to deal with that morning.
It was one of my last days in Israel and I wanted to share this day with my sister-in-heart, my best friend Moran. I had big plans; traveling to Jerusalem, praying at the kotel and placing a wishful note in it, breathing the pure mountain air of my beloved holy city, going to the Machane Yehuda Market and just having quality time with a woman that I cherish and the city my heart beats to.
Well, you already know that the day didn’t go according to schedule. Actually, nothing that was even close to that dreamy plan happened. My friend was forced to cancel our adventure due to prior commitments with her PhD studies and I was left waiting in the air for news of new plans.
Finally she called with excitement in her voice. Only God knows if it was due to the idea of making her fig jam or because she had seen the light – the end of her day at The Technion (or that she had just submitted her dissertation after 3 years of shedding “blood, sweat and tears” over it). We had a plan…well, kind of a plan. We decided to make fresh fig jam with spices and bring it to Minnesota!
I have to say “well” again, because the theme of the day was “Nothing goes according to plan…” right?! To make a long story very short, we planned to meet up and go to a farmers market, pick up some figs, spices, special glass jars and spend the day cooking and talking and just being in each others’ company, but that didn’t happen. The true line of events was way off of all that was planned and the ideas stated before.
In reality, we finally managed to meet later that evening, exhausted from this upside-down, trampoline-ish day. With a bottle of delicious red Recanati wine in our possession and a good amount of sisterly love, the magic started to happen! The figs were washed and cut, sugar was sprinkled, some vanilla, cinnamon and cloves, and… “walla“!!! An aromatic culinary wonder was successfully created!
Happy and proud of our palette-teasing delicacy, we would like to share the recipe and wish you the joy of cooking. B’tayavon!
Moran’s Famous Fig Jam
Ingredients:
2 parts fresh figs (original recipe calls for 1 kg of figs)
1 part sugar (you guessed it – .5kg)
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla sugar
Lemon juice (fresh is always best!)
Directions:
Wash and quarter figs, place in large sauce pot
Coat with plain and vanilla sugar
Set aside for 30 minutes to macerate
—
Cook over medium heat until sugar melts – it’s ok to mix gently with a wooden spoon but take care so that the figs don’t lose their shape
Add the cinnamon stick, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and cloves
Continue cooking and stir as needed to prevent sticking, for about an hour (cooking less will result in a more runny jam)
Pour hot jam into sterilized glass jars and store in the fridge (unless you take the time to fully can/preserve, but who does that?)
(Photo: Gudlyf)
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YUM YUM, save some of that fig jam for me!!!!!!!