Fig Balsamic Recipe
We fell in love with fig balsamic and since then and have always wanted to make it ourselves. Now with a HUGE collection of figs that we didn’t get to finish eating, it was time to make our much anticipated fig balsamic before the figs went bad. This fig balsamic recipes post was one of our first recipe posts back in 2008. It’s fun to see how our photography and garden has changed over the years!
Homemade Fig Balsamic Recipe
Summer doesn’t feel like it’s ending for us yet because there’s still an amazing amount of wonderful summer produce that’s reaching out to us every time we go to the farmers market. The summer fruit pangs hit us hard this year when it came to figs. The plethora of phenomenal figs has us buying more figs than we can eat, and they’re not cheap! Sometimes at $4-$6 for a basket of about 5-7 figs, it can get really pricey for fig lovers like us. Every where we turn around, there’s a different fig that we haven’t tried. So that means shelling out some major bucks for more, more and more figs. Now if only the farmers market accepted credit cards, then we’d be in serious fig and debt gluttony.
glorious figs
The fig balsamic was served on a Humboldt fog goat cheese plate and was meant to be drizzled on the cheese. Amazing! Another dish that we had was a heirloom tomato salad with a fig balsamic vinaigrette. In both these dishes, the fig balsamic was a delicious sweet, tart, tangy compliment to the cheese and the salad.
Warning! When using fresh figs, this amazing fig balsamic is not cheap to make.
Unless you have a fig tree that is yielding you with fig heaven, you’ll be shelling out half your paycheck for a batch for this stuff. With about $30 in fresh figs, we ended up with about less than 3/4 cup of fig balsamic. But all the gooey, sweet and tangy/tart concoction is worth every penny because it is so intensely flavored that just a little bit of the fig balsamic goes a long way. You can drizzle it on creamy cheeses (Humboldt Fog goat, Brie’s, Epoisses, St. Agur blue, etc.), on berries, or ice cream, use it as a glaze/marinade to add depth to meats (duck, lamb, pork) or mix it with a little olive oil for a fantastic vinaigrette to enhance your favorite salads. When stewed together, the sweet essence of the figs combines wonderfully with the tangy/tartness of the balsamic vinegar. The result is a dark, concentrated, sticky, gooey nectar of fig balsamic heaven. This reduction of fig and balsamic vinegar is something you have to try!
remove pulp
add balsamic vinegar, reduce
blend in food processor
strain to remove excess seeds
That’s it. Enjoy!
Fig Balsamic Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ripe fig pulp (about 10 oz figs) Sweet Mission figs or Brown Turkey figs
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Equipment
- Strainer
- Food Processor or Blender, optional
Instructions
- Scoop out fig pulp from skins.
- In saucepan, add fig pulp, balsamic vinegar and vanilla. Simmer on low heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until it becomes thick. Stir occasionally (every 5-8 minutes).
- Allow fig/balsamic reduction to cool. We like having the seeds in our balsamic as well as having it smooth. If you want it smooth, place mixture in blender or food processor. Blend thoroughly until mixture combines and becomes smooth. This step will also help release the seeds from any pulp that has not cooked down.
- In separate bowl, strain out fig seeds. Depending on your strainer, you might need to strain it at a couple times to remove most of seeds if you want a super smooth sauce. The reduction is very concentrated. Use about 1 teaspoon at a time (or to taste) to your favorite marinades, sauces, dressing and drizzles.
oh, how i love a good action shot! i’m ashamed to say that my experience with figs begins and ends with fig newtons, but this looks might enticing. perhaps it’s time for me to broaden my horizons. 🙂
Wow that looks good. Figs always used to remind me of those fig newton things that found their way into my lunchbag, but lately I’ve taken a liking the fresh ones.
I have some cheeses that are crying for some of that sticky goodness. I buy a fig vinegar that I love that’s wonderful in a vinaigrette.
Yes, this would be perfect if I had a fig tree producing gobs of figs in my backyard! Ah, to be back on my grandparent’s farm again. That would be great. The balsamic fig dressing looks really, really, very good!
This sounds amazing. Never heard of fig balsamic before but it sounds awesome.
hello,
this recipe sounds delicious..i am so lucky to have a fig tree…in fact, i am always in desperate need of new recipes because our tree produces more fruit than we can eat (and we eat a lot of figs!) a few questions regarding the reduction. does it need to be refrigerated? if so, how long does it last? can it be preserved? i would like to make massive batches of this wonderful sounding reduction..
best,
diane
wow thats a whole lotta figs . Sigh … when will i ever get my hands on so many of them ?? !!! for now i shall just look at your post n be happy 🙂
Blimey, this looks wonderful. Figs are pricey aren’t they! But, I figure they aren’t around for ages (my excuse for masses of heirloom tomatoes too..), so go for it. At least when I am eating sodding Kale for three months over winter, I will have the memories of sweet figs!!
I am going to have to try the fig balsamic – talk about fantastic flavors together.
Have you tried figs with proscuitto, buffalo mozarella and basil? the sweet figs, salty ham and creamy cheese just go fantastically together. Drissle that with some olive oil and balsamic, and that is a fab lunch.
yum yum YUM! i love figs! the first thing I’m going to do when I buy my own place is to plant a fig tree! and a persimmon tree. and maybe an italian plum tree. oh yeah, and a meyer lemon tree.
I took a month off with the Fresh From the Farmer’s Market blog carnival, but it’ll be back this month! Your article will be a great addition!
I’ve never had figs before… 🙁 I never really thought much of them, until I see your lovely shots, and now I sound like a pregnant woman with a horrid fig craving, without knowing how they even taste like. Boo…. 🙁
On a happier note, however, I have an award waiting for you at my blog 🙂
Hi I’m Lisa and I too am a figaholic. I love the suckers. My Dad’s uncle had a fig tree – in Rhode Island, that alone is an amazing thing. He had to bury the tree every winter and unbury it in the spring. Lotta work but man those figs were heaven. I would pick them and eat them as fast and I picked. I love me some figs!!
Wow — an indulgence, but for a special occasion dinner, wouldn’t that be fun to serve? Would balance the cost of all of those figs by using Trader Joe’s balsamic; it’s cheap, not bad, and since you’re reducing it anyway, perfect for this.
Mark is right, black gold! Figs are abundant here right now, too…though not quite as pricey as yours! They are around $2.50 a pound (4 euros a kilo). I may just have to pick some up to make this beautiful sauce! 😀
Oh, dear. I’m afraid I’ll never get to taste that for a long, long while. Does it work with dried figs? I’m guessing not 🙁 Black gold is pretty much what you have there! Wow!
Heaven in a sauce! Figs are the pinnacle of indulgence and you make them last even longer… you guys are sooo clever 😉
Wow! That’s a lot of wonderful figs! Love fig balsamic. But I buy it already made up, from The Oilerie in Wisconsin.
I’ve heard fig ice cream is really good, too. Sam posted it a while back, from David Lebovitz’s book.
Also, Vicki at A Work in Progress posted about having too many figs a few days ago. I’ll point her here!
I bought some reduced balsamic and Fig vinegar (well my mother did) and I don’t have a clue how to use it.
Do you have some recipes I could try?
Robyn
Hi Robyn,
One of our favorite uses for a reduced balsamic and fig vinegar is to serve it with a creamy cheese like a brie or Humbolt Fog. It is good over ice cream too. You can make a vinaigrette out of it. Try it on a fresh tomato salad or in this pomegranate salad. Just substitute in the fig/balsamic, maybe reducing the amount just a bit since it is more concentrated. Hope that helps.