Drunken Fig Jam

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 55 mins

Ingredients

• 2 lemons
• 4 lbs ripe fresh figs, stemmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (preferably black)
• 4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup brandy or 3/4 cup cognac
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Recipe

• 1 using vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons (yellow part only) in long strips.
• 2 cut peel into matchstick-size strips (about 3 tablespoons).
• 3 combine lemon peel, figs, sugar, brandy, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in heavy large deep saucepan; let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• 4 bring fig mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• 5 reduce heat to medium; continue to boil until jam thickens and is reduced to 6 cups, stirring frequently and occasionally mashing mixture with potato masher to crush large fig pieces, 30 to 35 minutes.
• 6 remove from heat.
• 7 ladle mixture into 6 hot clean 1/2-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jars.
• 8 remove any air bubbles.
• 9 wipe jar threads and rims with clean damp cloth.
• 10 cover with hot lids; apply screw bands.
• 11 process jars in pot of boiling water 10 minutes.
• 12 cool jars completely.
• 13 store in cool dark place up to 1 year.