Skip to main content
Dessert

Fig Filling

A sweet fig filling made by cooking chopped figs with water and sugar until thickened.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓
Fig Filling

Why it works: Fig and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,241 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Fig Filling

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the figs finely.

  2. Place the chopped figs in a saucepan.

  3. Pour the water over the figs.

  4. Add the sugar and stir well.

Cook

  1. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Figs
Provide the bulk of the filling and its natural sweetness and fruity flavour as they cook down.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the figs thicken into a spreadable, glossy texture.
Water
Softens the chopped figs and creates the liquid that reduces into a thick filling.

The step that matters

Cook over medium heat until thickened. Medium heat lets the water evaporate gradually while the fig pieces soften and release pectin. Too high a heat can scorch the sugar on the bottom of the pan before the filling thickens, so stirring regularly helps it cook evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

White CakeWhite Cake431 recipesPound CakePound Cake373 recipesOrange Bundt CakeOrange Bundt Cake349 recipesSpice CakeSpice Cake344 recipes