Southerners love to brandy peaches, pears, strawberries, and Lord knows what other fruits, but never have I been so impressed as I was by the brandied figs that Louis Osteen serves on slices of corn cake with buttermilk ice cream at his restaurant on Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The most popular fig in the South is the pear-shaped Celeste (or “sugar fig”), with purple skin and pink flesh, but the more widely available Black Missions and Kadotas (available from June to September) work just as well in this recipe. I don’t like to can these figs, since they become too soft and mushy with age.
MAKES: about 3 cups
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup brandy
- 4 cups sugar
- One vanilla pod, split lengthwise
- One 2-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 whole clove
- 1 pound fresh figs
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large saucepan, combine the water, brandy, and sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer.
- Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and add both the pod and the seeds to the saucepan.
- Add the cinnamon stick and clove to the saucepan, stirring well to incorporate.
- Simmer the mixture until it has reduced to a thin syrup consistency, which usually takes about 45 minutes.
- Remove and discard the vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, and clove from the saucepan.
- Add the fresh figs to the syrup in the saucepan.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the figs to cool to room temperature.
- Once cooled, tightly cover the figs in the syrup and store them in the refrigerator.
- The figs will keep for about a week when stored properly in the refrigerator.
