Fig Syrup
The grocery store had fresh figs. The grocery store very rarely has fresh figs (they seem to have a shelf life of about 47 seconds, so I understand), so I felt I had to take advantage. Of course, there is a limit to how many you can just eat out of the bag, but you really can’t let the others go to waste. So I made fig syrup. Fig, rosemary, pepper simple syrup to be precise.
I used two figs, four biggish sprigs of fresh rosemary, and two tablespoons of peppercorns, plus one mason jar of white sugar and the same amount of water. (When I’m making syrup, I just use whatever container I want to store it in to scoop out the sugar and measure out the water…perhaps inelegant, but it works. In this case it’s a one pint mason jar.)
Slice the figs, tear up the rosemary, and give the peppercorns a bit of a pound to crack them a little. Dump it all (including the sugar and water) in a pan and boil. I take a fairly unorthodox approach to my syrups and boil them for a longish time (10 minutes or so). It reduces the syrup a bit and gives it a nice caramel flavor. Just don’t walk away, because it does sometimes foam up.
Kill the heat and let it stand for an hour or two (both to cool off and to let the flavor get a bit stronger). Strain it into a jar (this is the hardest part, I used a tea strainer, but a fine mesh sieve would work too). Taking a moment to bask in the pretty color and possibly nibble on the stray rosemary needle is optional but encouraged. It will keep in the fridge for weeks and the freezer for months, though I don’t imagine it lasting that long.
As for what to do with it? Well, I’ll go into that more some other time, but I recommend drinks. Fizzy, frothy, happy drinks.
What?! Fresh figs? Where? This looks delicious. Can you divulge the location of said figs?
Giant Eagle at Legacy Village. They were in that very first produce case (the one opposite starbucks) on the end farthest from the main entrance door. They were in a little stand up case. And I nobly refrained from buying /all/ of them.
But the farmer’s market at Shaker Square sometimes has them too.
My former neighbor had a fig tree and complained about the mess it made, they did realized you could eat the figs! Every year I would pick gallons of figs and make fig jam. Heaven on bread with goat cheese.
Have you ever made rosemary honey? Simply heat honey (don’t boil) and toss in a few rosemary branches. Off heat, cover and let steep. Amazing in tea or on toast.