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When we moved to our currently homestead we were happy to find 2 huge fig trees already established on the property. Figs were something of a luxury before that discovery as they are quite expensive from the store – especially if you are looking for organic figs.
However, now we regularly harvest 125-200 pounds of figs each year, without much effort. We also leave plenty for the raccoons and the birds!
For several years we would just dehydrate the figs and snack on them throughout the year in trail mix, or on salads.
But last year we had so many figs that I just couldn’t keep up with them in the dehydrator before they started going bad! So I started playing around with how to can figs for later. It was a massive success and now we have a new way to preserve all our figs!
Though we do still dehydrate a good number of the figs ;-)
How to Can Fresh Figs
Canning figs is a very easy process and is done in a water bath, so no special equipment is required! However, I would recommend making sure that you have a pot TALL enough to accommodate quart jars PLUS 2″ of water above the rim as is needed for water bath canning.
Otherwise, if you do not have a pot that tall, simply can the figs in pints.
Below the instructions for canning your figs, I’m also including some commonly asked fresh fig questions, as well as some delicious ways to use your figs!
Canning Figs
Ingredients
- 10 pounds Fresh figs, washed and whole
- 4 1/2 cups Sugar
- 10 1/2 cups Water
- 8 Tbsp Bottled Lemon Juice (do not use fresh)
Instructions
- Prep jars according to water bath canning directions.
- Bring plain water to a boil, blanch washed figs in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain.
- Bring sugar and 10 1/2 cups of water to a gentle boil in a large pot, add figs to syrup and gently boil for 5 minutes.
Note: You may need to do this step in 2 stages if you don't have a pot large enough. - Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice to the bottom of each quart jar, or 1 tablespoon to each pint jar.
- Pack hot figs into jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Ladle hot syrup over figs, still leaving 1/4" headspace.
- Use plastic canning knife to remove air bubbles. Wipe the glass rim with a clean wet rag and add 2-piece lids. Adjust to finger tightness.
- Process in a water bath canner according to water bath canning directions here. 45 minutes for pints, 50 minutes for quarts.
- Remove jars from water with canning jar lifter and place on a folded towel on counter or table. DO NOT MOVE for at least 24 hours. Check to make sure jars sealed, if so store in the pantry. If not, store in the fridge and use within 2 weeks.
Fresh Fig FAQs
If you’ve never really dealt with fresh figs before, you may have a few questions. Here are our answers to a few commonly asked fresh fig questions!
How do you wash fresh figs?
I place about 4 cups of fresh figs at a time into a colander and then run the colander under warm warm for a few minutes. Toss the fruit gently by hand to ensure that all sides are rinsed.
This process is less important if you grew the figs yourself and did not use any chemicals during the growing process.
Do you have to remove the stems from fresh figs?
Nope! During the cooking process they become soft and edible as they are. I would remove any leaves or longer than normal stems, if they are present.
Do wasps get into the figs?
Wasps feed off of the figs, yes. However, while they do sometimes sting the fig, or even crawl inside, the fig breaks down the wasp and uses it to grow an even more delicious fruit!
So don’t worry about finding a wasp inside your figs. This seriously never happens!
Fresh Fig Recipes
Now that you have all your lovely figs washed, cleaned, and canned – it’s time to put them to good use! Here are a few fig recipes that can be made with fresh or canned figs. Enjoy!
Dinner:
Rosemary Flank Steak with Fig Salsa
Fig and Balsamic Glazed Quail
Dessert:
Pecan Fig Bourbon Cake
Raspberry Fig Cake
Fresh Fig Cake
Lemon Fig Cake
Drinks:
Fig and Bourbon Fizz
Mmmmm. Figs! I love them!
Thanks so much for including my Fresh Fig Cake in your fig recipe listing! It is truly one of my most popular recipes on my blog. Another fig favorite is my Glazed Pork Tenderloin made with fig preserves. I appreciate being included on your blog and here’s the amazing Fig Marinade: https://www.thehealthycookingblog.com/glazed-pork-tenderloin-1/
Awesome Holly! Thanks for sharing!
Ok,… just found this site. Moved from eastern Washington (no fig trees) state to western Washington, and our fig tree produced about 50 lbs of figs this year. I put up a date, raisin, and fig compote to use in cakes instead of apples, but did not know what to do with the rest. Our daughter says someone served her a pizza with figs, feta, and so im excited to try new recipes as they come up. Thank you for posting. Will be canning the fresh figs as well.
Hi Patricia! I’m so glad you found my site! That all sounds delicious, we use figs in place of sugar too and it’s delicious! We have also been dehydrating whole figs this year to the texture of prunes and they only last about 30 seconds, because we gobble them up pretty fast! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you here again! <3
My figs will be ripening soon, and it looks like we’ll have a big crop this year! I’d love to can some of them. I’m not having much luck in my online search for recipes that specifically call for canned figs. Is it okay to use canned figs in place of fresh?
I’ve found they work well in place of fresh for breads, cakes, and so on. We also just eat them as a side dish like canned peaches. You can also dehydrate them and rehydrate to use that way instead. I have a post on dehydrating figs too.
Have fun with your harvest! Ours is at an end this week ❤️
Thank you, Victoria! We have Black Mission Figs, and here in So California, they’re just coming on. Cannot. Wait. And I’ll check out your dehydrated figs recipe too! I’m on a pinning craze today. :)
Yum! I think that’s what ours are as well. We had a death in the family that kept us busy during the first few weeks of harvest, so we probably lost about 100 pounds of figs as they fell to the ground.
Oh well, we will do better next year! Have fun pinning all the things!!
Here’s the link for the other figs post, I was on mobile early and couldn’t link it: https://www.amodernhomestead.com/dehydrate-fresh-figs/