Spiced fig marmalade
grownandgathered
Spiced fig marmalade
Every year, around this time of year, there are figs and apples out of control. We talk about preserving, and how you just have so much of everything. It sometimes feels like a mountain that you can’t climb.
So this year we decide to just make enough, not to harvest and preserve every last bit. Just make enough.
And the experience feels nice. We have enough to give and enough to keep.
This will be our last batch of jam from this farm, as we move on. Many people have asked where we are going next, and what we are doing. And at last we are excited to tell you. We are travelling for a little while longer, in May we are off to Italy for 2 ½ months, where we hope to eat all of the food and see lots of Mediterranean growing/produce! And then, when we get back to Australia, we will start a new little farm on the other side of Victoria, where we will make our new home. It will be a smaller space, a humbler space, but we hope even more bountiful. We are super excited for all of the experiences ahead, to learn more, to grow more (no pun intended) and live more.
And it feels fitting to make one last jam here, a recipe we have made in this house so many times - adapted time and time again (you can find the original/base recipe and preserving instructions in our book).
We played around with it a bit this year, specifically for figs – and this is our best fig-jam combination yet. We also altered the cooking times a little, as it seems figs just get better with time – a longer, slower cook, makes it “jammier” and more flavoursome. The key is the orange, as we aren’t into the super/hyper sweetness of the figs and it just adds a little bit of bitterness that balances the whole thing out. And the spices add warmth.
For Easter, we will be having this on toast (or maybe on hot cross buns) with a cup of tea – we like to keep it simple. We know this post isn’t all chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns, but for us, this is what this time of year is all about – harvesting and preserving. Happy Easter.
