Pickled Beets and Fig Jam Make Festive Holiday Gifts

When the fig trees started producing in our Growing Domes this summer, I rushed to dry or freeze as much as possible. I knew there would be a jam recipe this fall. It just so happened, that the green chiles were ready to harvest at the same time I found this recipe for a Serrano or Jalapeno Fig Jam and heavily modified it to my liking.

Green Chile Fig Jam

5 lbs frozen figs—I had Kadota 5 green chiles roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped ½ cup pickled pepper brine ½ cup lime juice 1 cup apple juice ¾ cup maple syrup ¼ tsp red pepper flakes Pinch each of cardamom, black pepper, and cinnamon 1 cup sugar 3 ½ Tbsp low-sugar pectin

I have spoken before about things you can do with leftover pickle juice and this is one case where I used my leftover bread and butter pepper brine instead of vinegar. As strange as it sounds, the flavor profile of the finished jam is reminiscent of apple pie filling.

1. Add all ingredients to the pot except sugar.
2. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
3. Once it starts to bubble, stir constantly, until it reaches a hard boil—a boil that cannot be stirred down.
4. Add sugar and hard boil for a minute, stirring constantly. Test your jam set, and remove from heat.
5. Fill sterilized jars for freezing, canning or short-term refrigeration.

According to the original recipe, and the altitude I reside at, I processed this jam in a water-bath canner for 20 minutes.

Neither of these jam or beet pickle recipes has been tested by the USDA for canning safety. Proceed cautiously. As an alternative, consider using the jam or pickles within a week of being refrigerated or storing the jam in the freezer. The canning process makes these shelf-stable and more easily giftable.

Ways to Use Fig Jam

So far I have made danishes, topped cheese and mushroom pizza leftovers, and added it to a cheese plate. I plan to find a thumbprint cookie recipe that uses almond flour for holiday baking, make more toast or bruschetta, and add it to a sauce for sugar chicken. I may replace the cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving this year with fig jam.

Pickled Beets

Since our plant of the month is beets, I wanted to revisit a pickled beets recipe I have tried before from Alton Brown. The hardest part is trying not to eat all of the roasted beets before you pickle them.

Ingredients

2 large beets ½ large red onion, sliced Pickling spices

I drizzled golden beets that had been cleaned, peeled, and quartered with olive oil and spiced them up with sage, rosemary, thyme, and a local meat market’s steak spice rub.

Wrap in foil and roast at 400º for 40 mins.

Let cool, slice, and layer in a jar with slices of red onion.

Add 1 garlic clove, 3 whole allspice berries, 3 whole cloves, 4 small bay leaves, ¼ tsp peppercorns, ¼ tsp mustard seeds, and your favorite pickling spices. For added flair, place the bay leaves facing out around the outside of the jar as you layer in the beets and onion.

Cover with brine.

I had leftover brine after I filled the quart jar, and these are a little ‘tart’ since I reduced the portion of sugar from the original recipe. If these had been red beets, I would have used red wine vinegar in place of the white vinegar. I even filtered the apple cider vinegar through a cheesecloth, as I wanted it to be as clear as possible to see those pretty layers.

If you’d like to make this shelf-stable by canning, according to the USDA’s Complete Guide to Canning, process in a water-bath canner for 15 minutes. I live above 6,000 feet, so my pickles would require an additional 10 minutes. Since I only made one jar and was eager to eat these, I did not process my pickles.

Uses for Pickled Beets

I added these to a simple salad that included dome-grown greens, cabbage, carrots, goat cheese, and this pepita brittle. There is so much flavor, you won’t miss not having a dressing. Or run with the breakfast idea. Toast a bagel, smother it with goat cheese or cream cheese, and top with the pickled beets and microgreens.

Both the fig jam and the pickled beets would make a nice addition to a cheese board at your next holiday party. If you do choose to can these, you can also gift them without worrying if they need to be refrigerated. Happy Holidays!