Ginger Fig Jam

Figs are cheap here so I decided to make some ginger fig jam! Back at home the amount of figs I bought today would probably cost around six dollars (unless you own your own tree), but I got a bunch of figs here for just two euro. Yay!

Georg tells me that the Austrian government spends a very large amount of the country's money on subsidizing farmers so that the farmers can make a living and so that produce can be bought by everyone for a reasonable price. In the US fresh produce is so expensive it's actually cheaper to buy processed things, which I think is one of the reasons Americans tend to be fatter and unhealthier (and the people here really are skinnier, it's not just a myth. Where in the US I considered myself to be average, most women my age here seem to be much thinner).

Anyway, so I got the ingredients for the jam for about 3 or 4 euro total. I used about 2 cups of chopped fresh black Turkish figs, a couple of tablespoons minced fresh ginger, a half-cup of grapefruit juice (or whatever citrus juice you have around), and about 3/4 cup of sugar. All you do is put the ingredients in a pot and boil away until your jam has achieved the consistency you like. I don't use pectin, that makes the jam too firm. I like a sort of free-form jam.

I really like making my own jam because it's cheaper and better. A jar of fig jam in the stores (at least US stores) costs around 5-6 dollars--my ingredients cost considerably less. And it's better because I can control the sugar; I find that most store jams are way too sugary.

I am planning to serve the jam on toast with goat cheese in the next few days, and the leftovers make great PB&J sandwiches. You can make it really fancy by using good bread and an almond or cashew nut butter.