Fig Preserves

When I was a kid, I helped my Mom pick figs. Oh.My.Gosh...the itching! I always looked forward to the preserves Mom would make, but geez, I hated picking those things! Bob and I just got home from our vacation in Louisiana to see my family. My sister gave me two gallon bags full of frozen figs! I was going to just cook a little at a time but by the time we got home, they were half defrosted. So I put them in the fridge and let them finish defrosting. So this morning I took both bags and dumped them into a pot and started cooking. There was about 2 cups worth of juice in the bags with the figs.  I used a lot less sugar than my sister and my sugar is also vegan. Ohhhhhh! It tastes so good!!!

Fig Preserves

2 gallons ripe figs
Water (if no juice from figs), about 2 cups
2 cups vegan cane sugar

Put figs into Dutch oven, add water (if needed) and sugar and stir. Cook, uncovered, on high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to medium and let cook, uncovered, until figs are cooked and juice is thick. Add water a little at a time if necessary to keep figs from drying out. You need liquid to thicken. When figs are done, smash with a potato masher until preserves are chunky but there are no whole figs left.