This fig syrup recipe is decadently sweet, thick, and easy to make! Drizzle it over desserts or stir it into drinks like tea and cocktails! Try it on this berry cheesecake ice cream or drizzle it over a slice of fig cake!
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Homemade fig syrup is so easy to make and so versatile! You can use it to sweeten drinks, desserts, breakfast foods, and more! This rich, velvety syrup is perfect for adding a hint of sophistication to any fall charcuterie board, as well as festive cocktails and sweet treats like this fig bread.
The consistency of this fig syrup recipe is as thick as honey but with a deeper, richer, figgy flavor. Fig syrup will last at least a month in the fridge, or you can use the same process used in this chokecherry syrup recipe to extend its shelf life.
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😍 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This is a simple recipe that is easy to make and requires very little work.
- You can use different spices to personalize your syrup based on your preferences.
- Fig syrup makes an excellent gift!
- The cooked figs can be added to yogurt, smoothies, mixed into ice cream, or spread on a piece of sourdough toast!
🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Figs: I used black sun-dried figs, but fresh figs work as well, including Calimyrna, Brown Turkey, and Black Mission.
- Sugar: This recipe calls for cane sugar, but you can also use granulated white sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
- Citrus: I recommend using fresh lemon juice and dehydrated oranges or fresh orange slices.
- Aromatics: You will need 2-4 whole cloves and 1 cinnamon stick. If you'd like to infuse your fig syrup with additional flavor to give it more complexity, you can use cardamom pods, ginger, vanilla extract, etc.
🍯 How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: Chop figs into quarters and discard the stems. Add the figs to a saucepan or small pot, along with water and sugar.
Step 2: Mix until sugar starts to dissolve, then add lemon juice, orange slices, and cloves. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to a gentle simmer and leave uncovered for 20 minutes.
Pro Tip: You may want to consider placing your aromatics in a tea sachet; that way, they can easily be removed from the fig mixture so you can use the leftover figs for another recipe.
Step 3: Remove fig syrup from heat, then add cinnamon stick. Leave it to cool for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. The syrup will get thicker as it cools.
Pro Tip: I recommend leaving the syrup to infuse with flavor overnight, but you may want to remove the cinnamon stick after about 2 hours so it doesn't become overpowering.
Step 4: Strain the syrup using a fine mesh strainer. Press the fig mixture with a rubber spatula to extract all the syrup. Pour fig syrup into three 4-ounce mason jars and refrigerate.
Pro Tip: The leftover figs can be used in smoothies or as a filling for homemade fig newtons. To enjoy them as fig preserves, blend with some of the syrup.
☕️ Serving Suggestions
- Try it with goat cheese and crackers (my personal favorite).
- Drizzle it over vanilla ice cream.
- Blend it into smoothies.
- Eat it on toast with a little butter or on bagels with cream cheese.
- Enjoy it on waffles, pumpkin spice pancakes, baked protein oats, French toast, and even an apple Dutch baby.
- Mix it into Greek yogurt.
- Use it to sweeten elderberry tea, coffee, and lemonade.
- Add rich fig flavor to your cocktails and mocktails. It can be as simple as stirring a spoonful into a glass of champagne or sparkling white wine!
🌸 More Easy Syrup Recipes To Try
🤷🏻♀️ FAQs
Fig syrup is rich and very sweet. It's great for sweetening drinks, desserts, breakfast foods, and more. It makes a great addition to any charcuterie board, and is an excellent gift!
Yes, you can use fresh figs to make fig syrup. However, I would suggest adjusting the quantity to 3 cups.
Figs can sometimes work as a natural laxative due to their high fiber content, much like prunes. Fig syrup has historically been used as a laxative, although it was typically made with senna pods, which are also known for their laxative properties. Senna pods can certainly be added to this fig syrup recipe if that's something you hope to use it for.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- If the seeds bother you, strain the syrup through a soup bag.
- When stored in the fridge in an airtight container, this fig syrup will last up to a month!
- Canning this syrup will increase its shelf life.
- I store mine in a mason jar or flip-top bottle, but another option is to store it in a plastic squeeze bottle for even easier dispensing!
🍽 Related Recipes
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Ingredients
Method
- Chop figs into quarters and discard the stems. Add the figs to a saucepan or small pot, along with water and sugar.
- Mix until sugar starts to dissolve, then add lemon juice, orange slices, and cloves. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then reduce to a gentle simmer and leave uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Remove fig syrup from heat, then add cinnamon stick. Leave it to cool for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. The syrup will get thicker as it cools.
- Strain the syrup using a fine mesh strainer. Press the fig mixture with a rubber spatula to extract all the syrup. Pour fig syrup into three 4 ounce mason jars and refrigerate.
Nutrition
Notes
- You may want to consider placing your aromatics in a tea sachet, that way they can easily be removed from the fig mixture so you can use the leftover figs for another recipe.
- I recommend leaving the syrup to infuse with flavor overnight, but you may want to remove the cinnamon stick after about 2 hours so it doesn't become overpowering.
- The leftover figs can be used in smoothies, or as a filling for homemade fig newtons. To enjoy them as fig preserves, blend with some of the syrup.
- If the seeds bother you, strain syrup through a soup bag.
- When stored in the fridge in an airtight container, this fig syrup will last up to a month!
- Canning this syrup will increase its shelf life.
- I store mine in a mason jar or flip-top bottle, but another option is to store it in a plastic squeeze bottle for even easier dispensing!
Karen Mikan says
Can I use fresh figs not dried? I’m thinking they might need to be cooked longer??
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Karen, Although I haven't tried it with fresh figs, I am sure it would work out just fine since I use fresh figs to make jam and it makes a very tasty syrup!
Kristin says
Delish! I'm going to try it as the simple syrup in an old fashioned!
Hilda Sterner says
Mmmm, I like the way you think, Kristin!