Homemade fig jam. (Photo: Tony Jackman) 
Ingredients
2 kg ripe Evita (red) figs
300 ml water
½ cup lemon juice
2 small lemons, sliced
800 g sugar
Method
Wash figs in cold water and drain them. Snip the tops off the figs and quarter them. Put them in a large heavy pot.
Add the water, sugar, sliced lemons, and lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking at a fairly rapid heat, stirring now and then, for anything between 30 and 60 minutes. You are waiting for it to be at a point where it will be fairly thick, of the kind of consistency you will be familiar with in a jam. This is a little quicker than the setting consistency for a jelly, which you would want to set firmly. To test for a good jam consistency, I placed a metal spoon in the freezer and took it out to scoop some of the sauce up. Once it has the desirable consistency you can turn off the heat and allow it to start cooling.
Remove the pieces of lemon with a spoon and discard. Spoon the jam into sterilised jars and close the lids tightly. DM/TGIFood
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