Wine berries, fig trees, figs are synonyms of the fruit of the familiar figs. Most often, figs can be found on the shelves in dried form. Fresh figs are stored for a very short time, therefore, in addition to drying, there is another way to prepare a treat for the winter - to preserve. Fig jam is incredibly tasty, sweet, healthy, reminiscent of marmalade or marmalade in consistency. Such a delicacy will be a worthy alternative to industrial sweets, as well as a good prophylactic during colds.
How to choose the right product
Buying fresh and high-quality figs can be problematic due to the fact that the product spoils pretty quickly. Fruits contain a high amount of sugar, the cavity below has a hole, and the peel is soft and brittle. 
All this contributes to mechanical damage and the ingress of microorganisms that cause rotting and fermentation. It is for this reason that buying figs is desirable in places of growth.
Usually, figs are exported from hot countries: China, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Armenia. It is also grown in the territories of the Crimea, the Caucasus, in the southern regions of Russia. It is in these areas you can find ripe and fresh fruit.
In more remote areas, fruits are transported by air within a few days after harvest. Therefore, you need to look for figs in specialized stores. Due to the fact that figs react very badly to transportation, in most stores you can find only a dried alternative to fresh fruit.
Important! Too soft or hard fruits should not be chosen: in the first case, they overcame and, most likely, fermented, in the second case the figs were torn from a tree with an immature state, therefore sweets and healthy substances did not reach.
The color of the ripe product depends on the variety and can be black, dark purple or dark blue, greenish. When pressed, the skin is elastic, but slightly bends under the fingers. Inside the fruit there are many seeds, their number sometimes reaches 1 thousand! The fruit should smell good, without hints of sourness or rot.
After the purchase, it is advisable to use or cook figs as soon as possible, but if necessary, figs can be kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of 3 days.
Beneficial features
Figs - this is a very useful and tasty overseas delicacy. The fruit of the fig tree is rich in vitamins, minerals, organic acids, tannins, essential oils and sugars. 
The use of figs has such positive effects on the body:
- anti-inflammatory;
- expectorant;
- laxative;
- diuretic.
The diuretic effect also have celandine, purslane, derbennik, safflower, black chokeberry, iglitsa, turmeric, asparagus, zizifus.
Due to the high content of potassium, figs are extremely useful for vascular and heart health. It is recommended to include in the diet with elevated levels of bad cholesterol, blood diseases, hypertension, venous insufficiency. High levels of omega-3 and omega-6 have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart system.
Broths based on the fetus is recommended to take with angina, colds, inflammation of the gums and oral cavity. Also, the fruit is effective for pustules and boils.
In the treatment of ulcers and boils, it is recommended to apply the goldenrod, clover, viburnum, sweet clover, echinacea, coltsfoot, and acacia honey.
Regular consumption of fruits normalizes the work of the kidneys, spleen, stomach, improves digestion. Just a few fruits of the fig tree perfectly refresh breath, satisfy hunger, do not affect the waist. Since ancient times, the fruit has been used to improve potency. 
Harm and contraindications
Despite the enormous benefits of the exotic fruit, some groups of people are not recommended to use it fresh and dried, also the favorite jam and jams from the fruit of the fig tree are banned.
- With diabetes. Fruits are forbidden to use because of the high level of sugar.
- When inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract. Fruits can not be eaten with gastritis and ulcers, pancreatitis due to the presence of sugar and fiber in the composition.
- With gout. Figs are prohibited in this disease due to the presence of oxalic acid.
Did you know? According to biblical records, Adam and Eve used a leaf of fig tree to cover their naked bodies. Many researchers believe that the fig, that is, the fig, was also the forbidden fruit. However, this fruit grows only in the southern regions and many people living to the north have not heard of it. Apple as a forbidden fruit began to be mentioned precisely for the convenience of interpretation.
How to make jam: a step by step recipe with photos
Since the figs are very poorly stored fresh, it is most often dried, dried, or preserved from it, in order to be enjoyed by healthy and tasty fruits all year round. Below we consider the classic recipe for making jam from figs without adding additional ingredients.
You will also be interested to learn how to make quince jam, white cherry, feijoa, apples, grapes, strawberries, tangerine slices and crusts, red ashberries, lingonberries.
Ingredients
The classic recipe of fig jam involves the use of such ingredients:
- 1 kg of ripe figs (in peeled form);
- 800 grams of sugar;
- 1/2 lemon;
- 400 ml of water.
How to make fig jam: video
Kitchenware
To make a dessert, you will need the following kitchenware:
- sharp kitchen knife;
- enamelled cooking container;
- kitchen scales;
- protective gloves;
- 2 glass jars of 0.5 l.
It is advisable to use food scales to accurately measure the ratio of ingredients. But in the absence of an electronic device, you can use a measuring cup.
Protective gloves should be used in case you cook large quantities of figs (from 3 kg) and peel it, as it can cause severe irritation on your hands.
Classic cooking recipe
Cooking a useful delicacy occurs in several stages:
- Wear protective gloves, peel the figs with a knife. The process of purification will be easy and fast, as the skin of the fruit is very easy to remove, just enough to pry and pull.
- The specified amount of sugar divided into two approximately equal parts. Pour the figs in one portion of sugar and leave for 2-8 hours (you can overnight).
- After the specified time, you can begin to prepare the syrup. The remaining sugar to dissolve in water, put on a slow fire, add the prepared figs.
- Boil the mixture to form a syrup-like jelly-like consistency. In the process of cooking the figs will lose color and become almost transparent, this is a normal process. If you put the syrup in a spoon and turn it over, it will flow out slowly and gracefully, and the last drop will stick to the spoon.
- Arrange the jam on sterilized jars, roll up the covers and wrap a blanket until it cools completely.
Important! The longer the figs with sugar are cooked before cooking, the more elastic it becomes.
Fruits prepared according to this recipe can be preserved whole, elastic, appetizing. In the future, they can be used to decorate desserts and pastries.
Fig jam without cooking
There is another, alternative way of making fig jam without cooking. This method allows you to save more nutrients in the treat. Many will have a logical question: how can you save fruit without heat treatment?
For this we will use boiled sugar syrup, in which the figs will simply infuse. 
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of fruit;
- 700-750 grams of granulated sugar;
- 2 tbsp. water.
Step by step method of cooking treats:
- Use only fully ripe figs. Wash fruit well and dry with a paper towel. If the fruits peresepli a little, the skin can not be removed, otherwise the fig will lose its shape. Pour the prepared fruit in a bowl.
- In an enamel saucepan, dissolve the sugar with water, bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes.
- Pour the figs with syrup, cool. Then again pour the syrup into the saucepan and bring to a boil (but do not boil!), Simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes. Pour the figs a second time, cover and cool. Repeat the procedure 3 more times.
- Prepare jars and lids. After the final infusion of figs, spread it out with syrup in banks, cork and wrap.
Important! To ensure that fermented jam is not fermented, jars and lids should be thoroughly sterilized, only fresh fruit should be used for cooking, and the billet itself should be kept in a refrigerator or cellar.
Jam Recipes with Other Ingredients
There are many variations of cooking fig treats. Lemon in the classic recipe can be replaced by any citrus, add spices to the spice, such as pepper, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, ginger in a grind or whole.
Fig and Citrus Jam
Instead of lemon, you can use oranges or limes.
Necessary components:
- 1 kg of fruit;
- 500 g of sugar;
- 2 oranges;
- 0.5 tsp. ground cloves and cinnamon;
- 6 tbsp. l lemon fresh;
- 1 tbsp. l orange peel;
Phased method of cooking jam:
- Fig wash, dry, remove the skin. Wash the oranges thoroughly, cut off the amount of zest, peel off the rest of the rind and cut into large cubes.
- Put figs, oranges in an enamel container, add spices and zest, pour with lemon juice and pour sugar.
- Leave the mixture for 1-2 hours so that the juice appears.
- Now you can start cooking. When the syrup thickens, the jam can be removed and laid out in jars.
Fig jam with nuts
The most commonly used walnuts or hazelnuts. The number of nuts is approximate, you can use them more or less, and also combine their different types.
This recipe is prepared using the following components:
- 1 kg of fruit;
- 500 g of sugar;
- 100 grams of nuts;
- 1/2 Art. water;
- 1 tbsp. l lemon fresh.
To make a healthy dessert, follow the simple steps:
- Figs wash and dry, do not peel, but only cut the tails. Peel the nuts from the shell and partitions, chop with a knife to large pieces.
- Pour the fruits with sugar and leave for 1 hour. It is advisable not to interfere with the fruit with a spatula or spoon, but gently turn the container or shake it a little so that the sugar evenly distributes.
- After the specified time, add water, put on the fire and boil. To stew on a small fire for 15 minutes under a closed lid, then another 15 minutes without a lid. A foam will form during the cooking process, it is desirable to clean it.
- When the jam is cooked without a lid, you need to add nuts, pour in lemon juice after boiling. When the mixture boils, turn off the heat and wait 10-15 minutes until the temperature drops slightly.
- Prepare 0.3 or 0.5 liter jars, sterilize, decompose the jam and cork.
Did you know? It is believed that the quality of figs depends on the number of seeds in the fruit. If there are 900 or more bones in the fig, its quality is high; if the bones are less than 500, then the fruit is characterized by a mediocre quality.
Storage rules
Subject to the technology of cooking fig jam is suitable for food for 1-2 years. The main conditions for storage are temperature and light: the sunshine should not fall on the dainty jars, and the room temperature should be within + 6-20 ° C.
That is, it is ideal to store the workpiece on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in the cellar, provided that there are no sub-zero temperatures. If there is not enough space in the refrigerator, but there is no cellar, blanks can be stored in the closet. 
Several important rules, the observance of which will extend the safety of blanks:
- Optimally choose small jars of volume - 0.5 liters.
- Be sure to sterilize the cans for a couple, and the lids - boiling.
- Before pouring jam containers should dry out, pour the jam into wet jars is impossible.
- The thicker the jam, the longer it remains.
Thanks to such simple and useful preparations, it is possible to enjoy the fruits of the fig tree all year round, while receiving the necessary vitamins and minerals and a lot of pleasure from the dessert! We hope, among all the variety of recipes you have found for yourself the best option.
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