• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • recipes
    • baking
    • mid-week meals
    • time-worn tucker
    • entertaining
    • kid-friendly feeds
  • Latest Posts
  • About Me
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My account

Cooker and a Looker - Australian Home Cooking

  • Home
  • recipes
    • baking
    • mid-week meals
    • time-worn tucker
    • entertaining
    • kid-friendly feeds
  • Latest Posts
  • About Me
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My account
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Latest Post
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Work with me
  • About Me
    • Email
  • ×

    Home » recipes

    By Amanda Smyth 10 Comments

    how to make fig paste

    Share24
    Pin360
    384 Shares

    Australia is world-renowned for its Neighbours. Good neighbours become good friends - its a tune the whole world sings along too. Truth be told, living in Australia is considerably less dramatic than the TV show would have you believe.

    <SKIP TO THE RECIPE>

    I've been an Australian resident for 39 years now and I'm yet to be the subject of a car bombing, accidentally impregnated with someone else's child or discovered my husband having an affair with my sister.*

    There was that time when someone stole my identity, but that's about as close as life gets to Ramsey Street.

    Our neighbours are small-crops farmers. They grow various fruits during the year - dragonfruit, eggplant, persimmon, strawberries, lychees and figs. They're some of the hardest working people I know - rushing from harvest to harvest depending on the season.

    We've become friends over the past twelve years. Most recently in a combined effort to try to stop the approval of a telecommunications tower next to our farms. The objection has monopolised much of my time over the past few months, you may have noticed that I haven't been sharing many recipes. Truth is, it's hard to get excited about corn salsa with a fifty-six metre monstrosity looming over your shoulder.

    Our objections have been registered with Council and there's nothing to do but wait and hope that they make the responsible decision.

    After one of our tower discussions, Pina gave me a box of beautiful ripe figs. There was nothing to do but turn them into heavenly fig paste and return a jar.

    fig paste recipe, homemade fig paste

    ,

    2 votes

    Print

    how to make fig paste

    Prep 10 mins

    Cook 2 hours

    Total 2 hours, 10 mins

    Author Amanda Smyth | Cooker and a Looker

    Yield 1.2 kilos

    What's more satisfying than a really great cheese platter? Accompanying it with fig paste you made yourself! Learn how to make deliciously-gooey fig paste from four simple ingredients.

    Ingredients

    1.5kg ripe figs

    1 cup white sugar

    1 cup shiraz

    30g Jam Setter

    Instructions

    Trim then puree the figs. Combine the puree, sugar and shiraz in a large saucepan.

    Bring to the boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer for two hours.

    Stir in the jam setter, bring the paste back to the boil. Boil for two minutes, then remove from heat and allow to cool.

    Store in sterilised jars, ready for your next cheese platter!

    Courses Entertaining

    Cuisine Preserves

    I lie about the lack of tv-worthy drama with our neighbours. Yesterday morning, the Big Sister stuck her finger into a wooden piece of our noughts and crosses game. It started swelling at an alarming rate and none of my normal tricks could remove it.

    I made a panicked call to Bearhands beseeching him to meet me in the shed to perform an emergency nought-ectomy but he was at the other farm. I was making other plans when Pina's son Giuseppe coolly rolled in on his motorbike, bearing a box of dragonfruit and persimmon.

    Could he help us?

    NO WORRIES. He reached into the tool box we were standing next to, selected his preferred surgical implement and removed the offending zero in one swift motion.

    "I don't think she'll do that again Amanda" he said.

    "Not if she wants to continue playing the recorder" I replied.

     

    do you have good neighbours?
    what's your favourite way to eat figs?


    Looking for more fig recipes? Try this fig and yoghurt cake or this spiced fig sauce.

    Fig and Yoghurt Cake
    spiced fig sauce

    *Admittedly, I don't have a sister but even if I did I think the likelihood of that  happening is probably over-represented in the show too.

    Share24
    Pin360
    384 Shares
    « chargrilled corn salsa
    7 things I learned about my daughters from sleeping on their floor for a month »

    NEVER MISS A RECIPE!

    Sign up and be the first to receive new recipes straight from my oven to your inbox.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Robyn Carseldine says

      March 14, 2018 at 4:54 pm

      Now super glue is required to fix the nought ! Thanks for the fig paste recipe. How did you store it,? Just in jars??

      Reply
    2. Seana Smith says

      March 15, 2018 at 9:46 am

      Oh yummy, and what a lovely combo of information and storytelling, very much enjoyed.

      Reply
      • Em says

        March 15, 2018 at 1:00 pm

        Yes I agree, loved this post so much!

        Reply
    3. Em says

      March 15, 2018 at 12:59 pm

      Let's hope the council sees sense and all your hard work pays off. Meanwhile, how yummy does that fig paste sound? xx

      Reply
    4. Em says

      March 15, 2018 at 1:00 pm

      Yes I agree, loved this post so much!

      Reply
    5. Julie Bradford says

      December 30, 2020 at 3:28 pm

      How long does the fig paste store for and do you need to keep it in the fridge?

      Reply
      • Amanda Smyth says

        February 01, 2021 at 10:25 am

        I keep it in the fridge Julie. Suggest it would last a month in an airtight container (but we always eat it well before that!)
        Cheers,
        Amanda

        Reply
    6. Lou says

      March 28, 2021 at 11:57 am

      It also freezes really well!

      Reply
    7. Jackie says

      February 03, 2022 at 4:48 am

      I love the story telling, thanks for the enjoyment.

      Reply
      • Amanda Smyth says

        March 11, 2022 at 11:32 am

        No worries Jackie. Pleased you enjoyed. 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Footer

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • find new recipes
    • buy the book
    • download free printables

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions

    Contact

    • Contact
    • About Me
    • Latest Post
    • Shop

    Copyright © 2021 Cooker and a Looker

     

    Loading Comments...