Green Fig Preserve Recipe: A Taste of South Africa
In early summer, unripe figs begin to fatten wherever fig trees grow. In their jars the small, unripe figs are translucent and firm, their flavor magically shot through with the heady perfume of fig leaves on a hot day.
Photos by Marie Viljoen
Green fig preserves, fork-tender, but firm. They are soaked, boiled, steeped in syrup, and finally poached in it.
From Traditional Cookery of the Cape Malays, by Hilda Gerber (A.A. Balkema, circa 1945).
I drew initially on many sources, including Hilda Gerber’s Traditional Cookery of the Cape Malays (circa 1945), which was printed almost verbatim from an unpublished manuscript discovered in her belongings after she died in 1945.
On some fig trees, a first wave of breba figs forms on the old, previous year’s wood. This larger harvest is sweeter and better-tasting and the figs are known in the Cape as eetvye (eating figs), to be savored ripe and plump.
The South African tradition of preserving green figs and other fruits whole to make konfyt arrived at the southern tip of Africa with colonists, and most likely with the Dutch.
The early preserves would have been served as a spoonsweet, served with tea or coffee in the afternoon.
Firm green figs, ready for preserving.
My purist version involves no spices.
Some recipes might call for the addition of ginger, cinnamon, or even rosewater but I think that they veil the distinctive flavor of the unripe figs. Weigh down the figs with a large plate (they float) and soak for 12 hours, or overnight.
Preserved Green Figs
Cook at a simmer until a fig is just-tender when pierced with a skewer. To Soak in Syrup: Combine the water and sugar in a pot and bring to a boil.