Spicy Fig Orange Microwave Jam Food

SPICY FIG ORANGE MICROWAVE JAM

Steps:

• Place the ingredients in a large ceramic or glass bowl or casserole (a 2-quart Pyrex measuring cup works great), stir to combine, let sit for 30 minutes for the fruit to macerate in the sugar.
• Place in microwave.
• You will cook the fruit mixture on the high setting for approximately 15 minutes.
• As soon as the mixture starts to boil, after about 6 to 8 minutes, stop the cooking and stir.
• Continue cooking and stir every few minutes. At about 13 minutes the mixture should start to get viscous.
• If you spoon out a bit on to a small plate that has been in the freezer, you can push the mixture around a bit with your finger tip to see how thick it is.
• If it is runny, cook it a couple minutes more.
• You can also check by seeing how the jam runs off of a spoon. If it seems to firm up a bit as it drips, it's done.
• If you use a large Pyrex measuring cup, you can see that you start with close to 3 cups of liquid. You want to boil it down to 2 cups.

HEAVENLY FIG JAM

Steps:

• Prepare canner, jars and lids per safe canning practices.
• In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine figs and water. Reduce heat, cover, and boil gently until softened, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Transfer to a food processor fitted with a metal blade and purée. Measure 3 cups.
• Return puréed figs to saucepan and add orange juice and lemon juice. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Immediately stir in orange-flavored liqueur, if using. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
• Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Clean rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band (ring) down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
• Place jars in a water bath (boiling-water) canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.