Preserved Green Figs

Its that time of the year again..  My  green fig tree is laden with fruit. Unfortunately its not one of those kid of figs that have the juice inside, no its a fig purely created for making preserves. So here I go again. My first batch is 4kg which should make lots of nice pressies for family and friends. What will be different this year is that thanks to Pink the figs that turned brownish last year when cooked.. this year they have turned out in their natural glorious GREEN ! The magic potion she remembered from her gran was Vitrioel  which my man from the chemist told me is Copper Sulphate (reminding me of when your hair used to turn green in the swimming pool)

2 kg firm, ripe green figs ( leave the short stem on)

2 tbsp slaked lime

3.5 ltr cold water

2.5kg sugar
1 stick cinnamon

lemon juice of about 3 to 4 large lemons (I left the pips in for a bit of pectin)

Knife tip of copper sulphate to add during the boiling in order to keep the fig colour green

Cut a cross at the base of each fig. Mix the slaked lime in the water, add the figs and leave overnight to soak. I put mine into a sink and weighed it down with a wooden board. This ensures the fruit will be tender, yet have a crisp skin. Rinse thoroughly, place in a bowl of clean, cold water and set aside.

Place about 3.5 ltr fresh water in a deep saucepan to immerse the figs, add the fruit and boil for about 15 minutes until tender. Remove from the pot and drain in a colander ( Do not throw the water away ! Measure the water, and make up to 3 litres. Pour back into the saucepan, add the sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. (Don't allow the syrup to boil until this has happened.)

Drop in the figs one by one (don't allow it to go off the boil) and boil fairly rapidly, uncovered, for about 45 minutes until the fruit is translucent and the syrup has thickened slightly. Pack figs into hot, dry, sterilised jars, fill with the syrup and seal.

Makes about 12 x 550 ml jars.