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Dessert

Preserved Figs

A method of preserving figs in a sugared syrup with lemon and ginger.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,154 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Preserved Figs

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the figs

  1. Soak fresh figs in water overnight.

  2. Simmer figs in enough water to cover them until tender.

  3. Spread the tender figs on dishes to cool.

Make the syrup

  1. Make a syrup with 1 pound of sugar and 1 small teacup of water.

  2. Boil the syrup until clear and remove scum.

  3. Add figs to the syrup and boil slowly for 10 minutes.

  4. Remove the figs from the syrup and spread them on dishes.

  5. Set the figs in the hot sun.

  6. Add lemon juice and ginger to the syrup.

  7. Boil the syrup until thick.

  8. Boil the figs in the thick syrup for 15 minutes.

Jar and seal

  1. Fill glass jars three-quarters full with figs.

  2. Top the jars with boiling syrup.

  3. Cover the jars.

  4. Once cooled, seal the jars air-tight.

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.

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. Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,154 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Fig + gingertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together208 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Fig + lemontop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together763 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

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

  5. Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together14,054 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Fresh figs
Provide the fruit that softens and becomes the preserved main body.
Sugar
Sweetens the figs and, as a thick syrup, preserves them by drawing out moisture.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the sweet syrup and helps balance its flavour.
Ginger
Adds a warm, aromatic spice note to the syrup.

The step that matters

Boil the syrup until thick. Sugar concentration is what preserves the figs. If the syrup is not boiled down enough, it stays thin, the sugar level is too low to keep the fruit stable, and the jars are more likely to spoil.

Swap the fig

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, ginger):

  1. Orangefits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Mangofits better
  4. Figthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

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