Fig and Lime Jam

I have been wanting to try my hand at making more jams, chutneys and preserves, but I have not yet advanced to the full canning and preserving stage. Therefore, I decided to make a seasonal refrigerator fig jam, just to try a recipe and decide whether or not this is a cooking arena I would like to pursue further.

With a refrigerator jam, you do not go through the canning process, but instead keep the jam in the refrigerator for a few weeks (hopefully you will have eaten it by the time it would go bad, but it will go bad eventually).

Figs are in high season right now, and I bought a pound from my local farmer's market earlier this week. I love to eat fig-infused foods, but I have, in the past, had trouble finding ways to prepare figs. A jam seemed like a viable option. I found the recipe in my Cooking Light reserves (June 2010). In my version, I did cut out some sugar, because even Cooking Light's sugar levels seemed excessive.

1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup lime juice
1 pound fresh Black Mission Figs, cut into small pieces

Combine all of the ingredients in a large saucepan and mash with a potato masher until thoroughly mixed. Let stand for 2 hours, allowing the flavors to intermingle.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir occasionally. Spoon into a clean jar, let cool slightly and refrigerate.

If you are using a type of fig that is not as sweet as the Black Mission Figs, you may want to increase the amount of sugar slightly.