After my successful jam session last fall, I was definitely up for more this year.  Fresh figs from River Market Coop were my inspiration, and Michael Jackson kept my spirits high.  I made 2 versions of simple fig jam below.  One is sweetened with apple juice and the other is minimally sweetened with a dash of SweetLeaf Stevia, who by the way honored me by publishing my previous jam recipes.  Enjoy!  Comment below or contact me directly with any questions.

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Natural Fig Jam- 2 ways

Start with:

7 lbs fresh ripe black mission figs (makes 12 half-pints total)
1 package Pomona’s Universal Pectin 

1. See list of canning supplies .  See general canning overview. 
2. Make calcium water.  Put ½ tsp white calcium powder and ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with lid.  Store in refrigerator between uses.  Lasts a number of months.  Shake well before using.
3. Wash the figs and let dry.  If the figs are super squishy, leave them sit overnight covered with a cloth and they should toughen up a little and start to carmelize inside making them sweeter!
4. Wash and rinse jars; place canning rack and jars in canning pot with water just to the just barely cover the rim.  Bring water to a boil, turn down heat, and let jars stand in hot water.
5. Cut off the top stem of each fig and cut them into eighths.  (You can peel the figs if you want but what a hassle!  The peels are good I say!)  
6. In a large bowl, mash the figs with a potato masher, and then mash/puree them up some more using some kind of handheld blender or hand processor.  Figs are tough so you can really rough ‘em up good!   

Natural Fig Jam- Fruit Juice Sweetened (Makes 4 half-pints per batch.  It is important to only do 1 batch at a time.)

1 cup 100% apple juice concentrate
¼ cup lemon juice
3 cups fig mash (28 ounces)
3 tsp pectin powder
4 tsp calcium water
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Measure fruit into sauce pan with vanilla (add any additional spices here), and lemon juice.  Stir well.
2. Add 4 tsp of calcium water from jar into pan; stir well.
3. Bring fruit mixture to a gentle simmer.
4. In a small pot, bring 1 cup juice concentrate to a boil.  Put boiling juice in a blender/processor (Magic Bullet worked awesome here) and add 3 tsp pectin powder.  Vent lid and blend 1-2 minutes, until all powder is dissolved.  (I found this tricky.  The pectin powder tends to stick to blades and sides of blender, so add it carefully.) 
5. Bring fruit up to a boil and add pectin gel.  (I had to use a spatula here to get the entire amount of pectin gunk from the blender.)  Stir well. 
6. Bring back to a boil, stir for 1 minute, and remove from heat.
7. Bring one jar and a 2 piece lid out of the hot water.  Insert funnel and fill jars to ¼” of top.  Wipe any excess off the rim and screw on 2-piece lid.  Place jar in water and repeat until the jam fills the last jar.  Leftover jam can be put in a jar and into the fridge.  Try to do this step swiftly.
8. Bring water to a boil and process jars for 20 minutes.  Remove from water carefully, and let cool.
9. You may hear popping as the jars cool.  Leave them be!  Don’t shake or jostle them for 24 hours.  After that, check seals- lids should be sucked down.  Any jars that didn’t seal can be refrigerated.    
10. If you like this method, repeat with the rest of the fig mash!

Natural Fig Jam- Stevia Sweetened (Makes 4 half-pints per batch.  It is important to only do 1 batch at a time.)

¾ cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
3 cups fig mash
3 tsp pectin powder
4 tsp calcium water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp SweetLeaf Stevia  (Be sure to check the sugar equivalency charts of your stevia brand.)

1. Measure fruit into sauce pan with vanilla (add any additional spices here), and lemon juice.  Stir well.
2. Add 4 tsp of calcium water from jar into pan; stir well.
3. Bring fruit mixture to a gentle simmer.
4. In a small pot, bring ¾ cup water to a boil.  Put boiling water in a blender/processor (Magic Bullet worked awesome here) and add 3 tsp pectin powder.  Vent lid and blend 1-2 minutes, until all powder is dissolved.  (I found this tricky.  The pectin powder tends to stick to blades and sides of blender, so add it carefully.) 
5. Bring fruit up to a boil and add pectin gel.  (I had to use a spatula here to get the entire amount of pectin gunk from the blender.)  Stir well. 
6. Add sugar substitute (stevia) and stir well.
7. Bring back to a boil, stir for 1 minute, and remove from heat.
8. Bring one jar and a 2 piece lid out of the hot water.  Insert funnel and fill jars to ¼” of top.  Wipe any excess off the rim and screw on 2-piece lid.  Place jar in water and repeat until the jam fills the last jar.  Leftover jam can be put in a jar and into the fridge.  Try to do this step swiftly.
9. Bring water to a boil and process jars for 20 minutes.  Remove from water carefully, and let cool.
10. You may hear popping as the jars cool.  Leave them be!  Don’t shake or jostle them for 24 hours.  After that, check seals- lids should be sucked down.  Any jars that didn’t seal can be refrigerated.    
11. If you like this method, repeat with the rest of the fig mash!