Figgin’ pickled: preserving the moment

The smell in the house was heavenly last night as two pounds of fresh picked figs simmered in an aromatic brew of ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, allspice, apple cider vinegar and a little bit of coconut sugar.

At the end, after bottling, a little honey was added. Though the recipe I found online called for simmering the whole cocktail with the honey, I try to follow Ayurvedic principles and practices thus do not cook honey. The reason why honey shouldn’t be heated can be found in any good Ayurvedic resource and are centered around theories as to the impact extended exposure to high heat has on the digestibility of honey. A random summary of these principles around honey can be found here. (I have no affiliation with the source, just found it on a very brief internet search and the information chimes with my studies with reputable Ayurvedic teachers).

Looking a little like preserved eyeballs, spiced, (ah! ginger and cardamom!) figs are now marinating in the jar. A new and very tasty condiment is added to the range of chutneys and pickles I have to choose from at any meal. Take that, Birds Who Try To Eat All The Figs (even through the netting). I gave the birds ALL the grapes and a million sunflowers, surely I can have the figs?

That said, the two pounds I picked last night for my first foray into fig preserving, hardly made a dent in the crop, which is very generous this year.

Fig everything.