Fig Preserves

To about 1 gallon of fresh picked figs, add 11/2 to 2 cups of sugar and let stand overnight. Next day there will be enough liquid that has been drawn out of the figs to begin cooking. Cook figs over low heat until syrup has reached the desired thickness (this will take several hours—be careful not to burn the figs on the bottom of the pan).

Notes:
If you want whole figs, leave stems attached and pick when they are just turning.

If you want the figs to be more like strawberry preserves, remove the stems so that the figs will cook to pieces. You can also add a package of strawberry jello while cooking for fig preserves that taste like strawberries.

You may also add lemon slices with peel if desired—the candied rind is delicious.

I like my figs almost candied in a thick syrup and reduced to about half their original size, but the ones that always won at the county fair were the ones that were the ones I canned in a light syrup and were still the same size as when they were picked.