This Fig Meyer Lemon Marmalade is a flavor combination made possible by California Figs and Lemon Ladies Orchard. While this isn’t a sponsored post, all the fruit was given to me by west coast friends.
Back in early September, the folks from California Figs sent me some figs. And when I say some figs, I don’t mean they just sent a few. They sent me an abundance of figs. A delightment of figs. A true embarrassment of fig riches.
I took some to a friend’s party that was happening that very night. I packed up some and brought them with me to the Omega Institute for my weekend long canning workshop (we turned them into this Chunky Fig Jam). When I got back, I simmered and pureed a bunch into a version of the Gingery Fig Butter from my Naturally Sweet Food in Jars book (I used vanilla bean rather than ginger).
The remaining portion because this Fig Meyer Lemon Marmalade. Around the same time that these figs arrived, my friend Karen (owner of the Lemon Ladies Orchard) sent me a handful of late season lemons as encouragement to get well (I’d had a rotten cold and a bout of the flu in rapid succession).
After making myself a series of bracing honey and lemon drinks to combat my various ailments, I had enough lemons to make this preserve. Much like the sweet cherry version I made earlier in the season, I approached this recipe over the course of a couple of days.
I sliced, deseeded, and soaked the lemons overnight at room temperature. I also quartered the figs, mixed them with sugar and let them macerate overnight in the fridge (it was still hot then and I didn’t want them to turn boozy while I slept).
The next day, I combined the soaked lemons (and their water), the figs, and the sugar and brought it to a rapid, rolling boil. After about 35 minutes of cooking and stirring, the marmalade was sheeting off the spoon nicely and was approaching the critical 220F.
In the end, I was left with six half pints of marmalade that marries the qualities of the two fruits beautifully. The fig flavor sings and the lemons bring more than enough acid to supplement the figs lower levels. This is one that I am only sharing with my very favorite people and I’m doing my best to hold onto at least two jars (I tend to be quite generous with my preserves).
Should you find yourself with similar sets of ingredients (this may only be possible if you live in California), I highly encourage you to try a batch.
Fig and Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds figs
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 pounds Meyer lemons
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Wash the figs and trim away any hard bits of stem. Cut them into quarters and place them in a container. Add the sugar, stir to combine, and let them macerate in the fridge overnight.
- Wash the lemons. Cut away both the stem and blossom ends and slice each lemon into quarters. Cut away the thin strips of white pith from the interior of the wedges and use the tip of your knife to poke out the seeds. Cut each quarter into thin slices from top to bottom.
- Once all the lemons are sliced, place them in a bowl (along with any of their liquid that you were able to capture) and add 2 cups of water. Let the sliced lemons soak overnight.
- The next day, combine the figs, sugar, lemons, and soaking water in a large, non-reactive pan.
- Place the pan on the stove and set the burner to high.
- Bring the contents of the pot to a boil and cook, stirring regularly, until the fig and lemon mess has reduce by at least half and is starting to shape up into marmalade. You may need to reduce the heat as cooking progresses so that you maintain a low boil without scorching the bottom of the pot.
- While the marmalade cooks, prepare a boiling water bath canner and 6 half pints.
- Test for set using both the plate and temperature tests (required temp is 220F).
- When you deem that the marmalade is done, remove the pot from the heat.
- Funnel the finished marmalade into the prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
- Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
Can’t beat Karen’s lemons! Would love to be able to grow figs here, but would have to have a micro-climate area in the yard to protect them in my zone of 5.
… I am super sad that it’s past fig season for me, but I am bookmarking this to try next summer my fig tree starts producing again. It’s going to be a toss up between trying this and making more of the fig mostarda! The fig mostarda will probably win, but this will probably be my second batch. 🙂
Bookmarking this for next summer…although I have to agree, your fig mostarda is out of this world:)
Do you think this would need any adjustments for regular organic lemons instead of Meyer lemons? I was able to get 6 quarts of lovely figs today but the meyer lemons on the tree won’t be ripe for a while longer. Thanks for any input :).
The only thing I’d do differently is search out the thinnest skinned lemons you can find!
Awesome, thank you! I was contemplating cutting the rind off and removing the pith like a cut rind style lemon marmalade if the skins were really thick. I ended up making mostarda and another recipe on my to try list (the orange and cinnamon fig jam from The Joy of Jewish Preserving) but I am keeping my eyes peeled for more figs :).
I have the Meyer lemons from a wild tree here in my yard in Central Florida. I am hoping the supermarket has the figs. Sound delicious.
Wondering if you can do this with some dried figs…hmmmmm
Above you mentioned a vanilla bean instead of ginger for the fig butter in Naturally Sweet… Would you use 1 vanilla bean, scraped?
Thanks! I have picked 12 lbs and counting from the fig tree in the last day or two so canning season is official on for me :). I am making the Meyer Lemon and Fig Marmalade right now.
Yes! That’s exactly what I would do.
I’ve been given a large bag of Orangequats, a cross between Satsuma & Meiwa Kumquat. How can I use them? I can’t find anything on line about using them. Marmalade??
I’m so sorry, but I’ve never had the opportunity to use Orangequats.
We have a single green fig tree, but it produces hundreds of wonderful fruit per year. This summer we’ve been covered in them, so I tried this recipe, using regular lemons. The marmalade is spectacularly good, with the tang of lemon, a little back-taste of rind, and the figgy jam as a headliner. Somehow I never achieved the 220 degree threshold, but the spoon sheeting method and eyeballs were good enough. Great, thick consistency, rich color, and a good seal on every jar. Tonight, it’s keema curry, in honor of the chutney we made, but for lunch it’s marmalade
I’m delighted to hear that you were pleased with this recipe!