Our beloved Rika Sima trusted us with this recipe and says: “This figs in light syrup preserve is not difficult to make, but can be challenging as figs are fleshy fruit, which means it contains a lot of water, and that is where the secret of its success lies.
Fig preserve is made only from “gall” figs that have not ripened and are collected from the trees in April and May. Summer edible sweet figs are only made into jam and retseli.
Recipes and traditions differ, but everyone agrees that figs are a symbol of desire. In my birthplace (Epirus), it is said that you “squeeze” the figs to get the water out with the left hand (the hand on the side of the heart), so that your “desire” (love) is tightly held in your hands! ”
The fig fruit, eminently Mediterranean, is an August trademark of unquestionable nutritional and therapeutic benefits. It has been an integral part of the human diet for at least 3,000 years. In ancient Athens, figs were considered so valuable that there was a special body of men – the “slanderers” – who denounced those who stole them or exported them illegally.
Fig is a delicious fruit that thrives in temperate climates. Fig trees need a lot of sun to produce their delicious fruit. Fresh figs can be found in late summer. However, dried figs are available throughout the year. The fig tree is one of the oldest trees cultivated by man (7000 BC in Jericho). It is the first tree mentioned in the Bible (i.e the fig-leaf is mentioned in the Book of Genesis). The Kimi fig is recognized by the European Union as a product with a Protected Designation of Origin.
Rika Sima has also provided us with the recipe of fresh mousse with sweet strawberry preserve
Figs in light syrup (glyko sikalaki)
Description
Our beloved Rika Sima trusted us with this recipe and says: “This figs in light syrup preserve is not difficult to make, but can be challenging as figs are fleshy fruit, which means it contains a lot of water, and that is where the secret of its success lies.
Ingredients
- 1 kg unripe baby figs
- 1 kg of sugar
- Water enough to exceed 2 cm of sugar in the pot
- Minimal (lens size) blue stone
- few cloves
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
- 1/2 tsp xino (citric acid)
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- We wash the figs. With a sharp knife, remove the stalk and their small back.
- Put them in a pot with enough water until they boil 5΄ (at first they float, later they retain water, weigh down and sink). We repeat by changing water.
- Rinse from the second boil and pour them into a pan that we have put the blue stone, diluted and dissolved in cold water. We leave them there for 10΄.
- Rinse with plenty of water 2-3 times and put them in clean water (to be covered by water) in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- Strain the figs out of the water.
- Here he wants attention (see the photos in how to): we have to pierce the figs with a sharp, thin object from their cut top to their back navel, and squeezing them with our palm (the left, for the sake of desire) to press them (without melting them) so that the excess water comes out. Due to the pressure, the figs wrinkle and shrink, losing their volume.
- We spread them on a kitchen towel reinforced with kitchen paper for 12 hours so that their moisture is absorbed even more.
- For the syrup, put the sugar in the pot and add the relevant amount of water, vanilla, cloves and sour.
- When it boils, add the
- figs. These slowly from the boiling and the syrup, regain their volume. Once they are puffy and round, turn off the heat and transfer the pot to a cold eye.
- We leave it there until the next day.
- The next day we remove the figs with a ladle and carefully in a strainer. We put the syrup to boil again until it
- , it is heavy. When this is done, add the figs again and as soon as it starts to boil, add the lemon juice, mix carefully, and remove the pot from the hot eye.
- Fill immediately into sterile jars, close tightly, turning them over for sterilization.
Notes
Cook’s Tip
The blue stone helps the figs maintain their bright color and keep their outer flesh crisp.
Doctor’s Tip
The 100 gr. Fresh figs contain 75 calories, while dried figs contain 250 calories. They also contain soluble fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 μερίδα
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 44 gr
- Fat: 0,2 gr
- Carbohydrates: 45,5 gr
- Fiber: 3 gr
- Protein: 0,4 gr