Since fig is a specialty item in some regions only, it may not be available where you live. Which means it may be difficult to follow a recipe that calls for fig jam.
Also, fresh figs are seasonal, so you cannot expect to have a constant supply of this fruit or fig jam all year round.
Don’t worry! That’s why we have compiled a list of some of the most convenient fig jam replacements for you.
These alternatives can easily be found in your local supermarket; hence, they act as excellent substitutes for fig jam, regardless of what season you’re in.
Fig & Fig Jam: Essential Facts
Figs have been around since biblical times. They originated in Northern Asia Minor and were highly esteemed by the Greeks, Romans, and other Mediterranean civilizations.
Yet, now, they can be grown in most warm climates, making them much easier to find.
Figs belong to the mulberry family. They are the one-of-a-kind fruit resembling a teardrop that is the size of your thumb.
A fig contains hundreds of tiny seeds and has the purple or green peel when ripe. The flavor of the pink flesh of this fruit is gentle, sweet, savory, and slightly sour.
For your information, figs can be consumed fresh together with their edible skins and seeds or preserved as jams for longer use.
Preserved figs go well with cheeses and salty crackers, while the jam goes well with bread and butter.
Fig jam’s flavor profile and sweetness are somewhat more complicated than the jam of other fruits.
It can be hard to find another fruit that is both sweet and savory (like fig), but you do have more options than you may think.
Fruits that are similar to figs can be good substitutes for fresh figs so that they can be used to make jams that replace fig jam.
List of 7 Substitutes For Fig Jam
The Most Ideal Substitute: Fig Jam Made From Dried Fig
Dried fig is much more widely available than fresh fig and makes an excellent substitute for fresh fig.
The most common ones are Black Mission, Calimyrna, and Smyrna. They can be rehydrated with hot water to become soft and plump.
If you enjoy making your own jam and cannot find the fresh fig to make your fig jam, dried fig would be the most direct fig substitute.
You can still get all the flavor and texture of fig jam using dried fig as a substitute for fresh fig.
If you decide that you want to make fig jam from dried figs, follow our recipe for the best fig jam that would complement any type of cheese on your cheese plate.
- Things to prepare: You need to prepare dried figs, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and a few drops of lemon juice. Thus, get a pit and a blender.
- Get the figs ready: Remove the stem of your dried figs and cut your dried fig into 4-6 pieces.
- Cook the jam: In a medium-large saucepan over medium heat, combine the figs, sugar, water, balsamic vinegar, and lemon juice. Bring this to a boil, then lower to the low, constant heat. Cook this mixture and stir it periodically for 10 minutes.
- Cool it down and blend: Remove it from the heat and blend the mixture in your blender until all the large pieces disappear. That said, do not blend too much so that your jam still retains the fig’s texture.
- Finish off: Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes until the mixture has the jam texture. Taste your result and adjust the tanginess of this jam by adding balsamic vinegar based on your preference.
You can remove the balsamic vinegar in this recipe and follow all the steps if you don’t want the tanginess in your fig jam.
2. Prune jam
Prunes belong to the plum family. They usually come in the dried form, but fresh ones can occasionally be found.
Prunes have a color and texture that is comparable to fresh fig, making their jam the closest and most similar substitute for fig jam.
This jam is prevalent in supermarkets, or you can create it at home with a food processor or blender.
Dried prune also makes an excellent substitute for dried figs if you want to follow the fig jam recipe above.
3. Apricot jam
Fresh apricot is another good substitute for figs. Like figs, fresh apricot can be eaten whole or cut in half for the cheeseboard.
Dried apricot is soft and has a sweet, slightly savory/salty flavor similar to figs. Hence, apricot jam also has a similar taste to fig jam.
Note that apricot jam can be used to replace fig jam in various recipes, especially in baking.
4. Date jam
Dates have the same dark color and nutritional value as figs, which results in a comparable flavor. Dates can be consumed raw.
Yet, it usually comes in the dried form that makes a good substitute for dried figs in the fig jam recipe above.
Meanwhile, dates are much sweeter than figs, so keep this in mind when substituting the two. Also, you may have to cut the sugar in your recipe while using date jam for the same result.
5. Blueberry jam
Blueberry can produce excellent jam and make a great substitute for fig jam. Blueberry gives you that lovely purplish-blue tint that many recipes ask for.
Thus, it also has a similar savory taste that makes the best substitute for recipes that ask for the slight saltiness of fig jam.
Blueberry jam is widely available in stores and supermarkets.
6. Cherry jam
Another convenient and popular fig jam substitute is the cherry jam. The sweetness of the two kinds of jam is similar.
Thus, cherry jam can be both sweet and tangy, which means that the sweet flavor profile of cheery jam is also complicated like that of fig jam.
However, the sweetness of cherry jam can be more intense, so pay attention to the sugar content in your recipe. You should reduce the added sugar in your baking so that your baked goods will not be overly sweet.
7. Nectarine jam
Nectarine jam is another easily available jam that is a good substitute for fig jam on sandwiches. Thus, fresh, sliced nectarines can look great on a cheeseboard and go well with the selection of cheese and biscuits.
This jam has a flagrant sweetness that works well as a counterpoint to the salty, savory tastes, which resembles fig jam significantly. For most recipes, nectarine jam and fig jam can be used interchangeably.
