The whole fig fruit is preserved with its peduncle (tail) and serves as a very sweet dessert. Mastic and geranium leaves are added to the jam to enrich its taste and aromatize it.
Ingredients:
1 kg of small sized white figs
500 g of sugar
1 liter of water
Juice of 1 lemon
4-5 pebbles of gum Arabic (mastic), grounded
5 geranium leaves, washed
1 cup of sesame seeds, roasted
Preparation:
- Rinse the figs and drain them. Dry them with a cloth before cooking and make sure you keep the peduncle (tail)
- In a cooking pot, prepare the syrup by heating the sugar and water over medium fire
- When the syrup starts boiling, remove the froth when formed and add the figs
- Keep stirring gently with a wooden spatula until the mixture boils again and begins to thicken
- Add the lemon juice, gum Arabic and geranium leaves and stir for 10 mns
- When the jam is thick enough, stir-in the sesame seeds and turn the fire off
- Remove the geranium leaves and pour the jam in sterilized glass jars. Make sure the figs are fully covered with syrup
- Close the jars tight and turn them upside down to avoid the formation of air pockets. Leave to cool overnight