Flavorful Fig Syrup

Flavorful Fig Syrup
  • Yield:makes about 2 cups
  • Active time:5 minutes
  • Total time:3 hours 45 minutes

[Photographs: Autumn Giles]

Eating a fresh fig straight from the tree is one of life's singular pleasures, but getting that amazing fig flavor into drinks is a bit of a challenge. The solution is to infuse a combination of slightly juicy oven-dried figs and store-bought dried figs into a simple syrup.

Note: If you have trouble getting your oven to go down to 250°F to roast the figs, try setting it on the lowest possible temperature and propping open the door with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. To track the temperature while doing this, I place the probe of my probe thermometer into the oven.

Ingredients

  • 12 fresh mission figs, halved
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 12 dried figs, cut into 1/4-inch strips

Directions

  1. 1.

    Preheat your oven to 250°F. Arrange fresh figs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cook until figs are slightly shriveled and have released some juices, about 40 minutes.

  2. 2.

    Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat.

  3. 3.

    In heatproof quart jar or medium heatproof bowl, carefully combine oven-dried figs, sliced dried figs, and warm simple syrup. Steep at room temperature for 3 hours.

  4. 4.

    Using an immersion blender, blend fig mixture until it is a chunky puree. Using a jelly bag or clean white t-shirt, strain into a clean jar. You will need to squeeze the jelly bag or t-shirt to help extract the most liquid. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Fig syrup keeps 1 week in the fridge.