Calm and beauty before the predicted storm... Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

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Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 26, 2012

As we near the end of October, our fall backyard garden continues to produce bright and cheery dahlias, red cannas, tiny blue chia, pink basil, red salvia and even more yellow tomato blooms. Too bad all the hummingbirds have migrated, they love many of these blooms. We're still harvesting potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, rosemary, oregano and nutritious greens like Swiss chard and arugula.

A whole new batch of potato plants have emerged in a raised bed that we "thought" we harvested all the potatoes out of! Gardening is always full of wonderful surprises.

Now, we're preparing for Hurricane Sandy's wrath of heavy rain and winds. We'll see what happens... stay dry and be safe.

Photos Copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

23% of teens have either pre-diabetes or diabetes according to @AmerAcadPeds

Is Your Teen Overweight?

More and more doctors are referring teenagers to see a Registered Dietitian with their parent(s) for weight management. Most teens I speak with tell me they don’t even want to go, but do so reluctantly. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 23% of teens have either pre-diabetes or diabetes. 

Are you an overweight teen? Are you a concerned parent? Participate in physical activities and learn all you can about healthy cooking and eating right. Start your healthier diet and lifestyle today to prevent obesity-related diseases like diabetes.

Related Link
Report of Teen Study by The American Academy of Pediatrics

Time to Harvest Persimmons! South Jersey @EatRight #GardenCuizine @Fruits_Veggies

Persimmons

Persimmons appear ripe and ready-to-eat now in the Fall season. One of my coworkers, the person who brought us the delicious figs I wrote about, brought us our her South Jersey neighbor's latest backyard harvest yesterday - freshly picked persimmons. Have you ever tasted a persimmon?

Persimmons are one of those fruits that many people have yet to try. No one in my family had ever tasted a persimmon before. I only had two fruits to bring home, as luck would have it, I accidentally smashed one getting into my car on the way home from work! The other ripe persimmon made it home to our tasting table. Everyone loved its natural sweet flavor. 

To learn more about persimmons 

and their nutrition profile,

Read my Dave's Gardens article: Have You Tasted A Persimmon?

Photo Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Today in Our Fall Garden #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 7, 2012

Fall is in the air! No killing frost yet here in South Jersey. So many colorful blooms continue, including: Cosmos, Mums, Buddleia, Shiso, Salvias, Cannas and Dahlias. At this time of year, look for praying mantis near your porch lights. We found one of these cool creatures sunning on a plant by our front door yesterday. No wonder our Japanese beetle population seemed more in control this year. Mantids are an organic gardeners best friend. Females lay their eggs in the fall.

Our old dog Holly enjoys the cooler air as she waits for Dad to check out the garden. We still have several pounds of "King Harry" potatoes buried beneath the earth waiting to be dug up.

Black Russian Tomatoes Solanum lycopersicum
This year our favorite tomatoes were what I thought were Black Krim heirloom, but it turns out they were Black Russian; both look similar to Cherokee Purple. Black Russian had great flavor! We ate them on sandwiches and used them in cooking and in salsa. The dark green top half color was deceiving, because they were ripe and juicy inside. 

Bay Laurel Laurus nobilis
We harvested bay leaves and noticed that when bay leaves dry, they curl. Store-bought bay leaves must be pressed dry to keep them flat. 

Chiltepin Pepper
Our Chiltepin pepper shrub is producing small, round hot red peppers daily since we took the plant indoors to protect it from cool temperatures. Every morning we harvest another half dozen or so.

Happy and Healthy Cooking and Gardening!
Related Links
Bay Laurel - Grow Your Own in a Container
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Homemade Jersey Tomato fresh Garden Salsa #canning #recipe #GardenCuizine

Homemade Jersey Tomato Salsa

Who had time to blog recipes and photos during peak tomato season? Not I, so save this recipe for next fall harvest season when you have boku tomatoes ripening so fast that you can't possibly eat them all. Salsa also makes good use of affordable, fresh locally grown tomatoes from your farmers market. 

No such thing as too many tomatoes!

1. Share tomatoes your local food bank
2. Give away tomatoes to family and friends 
3. Preserve tomatoes by making pasta sauce, hot sauce, ketchup or salsa.

We decided to make several batches of salsa this year since we were still stocked with several jars of "Harry's Hot Sauce." We've been making homemade salsa for years now. It's always such a treat to have, especially during the Winter and even early Spring, before tomatoes are ready to harvest. Salsa can be enjoyed so many ways - think beyond chips. We like it as a condiment over scrambled eggs, fish, tacos or bruschetta.

This salsa recipe was inspired from a Cooks Illustrated version that uses Lime Juice and Cilantro. Those flavorful ingredients work for us, feel free to change it up to your liking; just remember not to skimp on added acid for food safety reasons.

Ingredients 
5.5 lbs (~2,480g) Jersey tomatoes (about 6 large)
2-3 jalapeno peppers or other hot peppers of choice
1/2 cup (116ml) lime juice
1 medium (174g) red onion
1 bunch scallions 
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup (59ml) olive oil 
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

 Putting it all together

• Chop and let tomatoes drain in a large colander; drink the tomato liquid or use it in soup or other recipes - don't waste it! Water soluble nutrients like vitamin C leech out into the tomato liquid. In our batch the tomato liquid measured 356g; yours will vary depending on how juicy your tomatoes are.
• Chop 1 cup of cilantro leaves; set aside.
• Seed and chop the jalapenos or other hot peppers; set aside.
• Gather up the remaining ingredients. 
• Add all the remaining ingredients to the chopped, drained tomatoes. Stir to combine - serve immediately or refrigerate for later. 

To preserve by using water process canning method:

• Stir in 2 teaspoons citric acid powder
• Heat entire contents and simmer 10 minutes. Ladle hot into sterilized canning jars and process following USDA's Guide to Canning Tomato Salsa (link below).  
• Recipe yields 5, 8-ounce jars.

GardenCuizine Nutrition Analysis coming soon... we know tomatoes are a good source of Lycopene and Vitamins A and C!
Related Links
Time for Tomatoes - Fresh Talk check out my interview with Cheryl Sternman Rule
Canning Salsa Safely
USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning Tomato Products

Recipe, photos and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved. rev 11/1/1

Tucked away from the #FNCE frenzy in Philly; Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view 

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

October 7, 2012

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE) in Philadelphia is now underway (October 6-9), drawing more than 10,000 Registered Dietitians - myself included. You can follow updates about the conference on Twitter. Everyone is quite eager to Tweet their updates and as a result several hash-tags have emerged: #FNCE, #FNCE2012 and  #FNCE12. 

I was in Philly before the FNCE frenzy - for a 2 1/2 day Weight Management training certification course, which no doubt benefited my nutrition counseling skills. I was sorry to miss the FNCE food photography class and the excursion to Hershey PA though. Proud to be a qualifying participant in a Hershey cocoa focus group, I look forward to going back to Philly this week.

Philadelphia is in our backyard so to speak; it's not a far drive away. But, what's really in our back yard? A fabulous garden. Backyard gardens provide food, physical activity and fun for the whole family. I highly encourage you and your family to try growing your own vegetables and herbs. And, even if you don't have a backyard - plants can be grown in a neighborhood community garden or grown in pots and put out on a balcony or porch. Here is today's spotlight of a few of our select October blooms and foliage.
 
Photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Chiltepin Peppers (Capsicum annuum var. aviculare) - one potted plant produces literally hundreds of tiny round hot peppers; also known as bird peppers. We just took our plant indoors last night. Peppers grow best in warm climates. Chiltepin peppers require a longer growing season than sweet banana peppers or more commonly grown bell peppers. From a culinary perspective, they are well worth the wait. Once red, they can be pulled off the plant and allowed to dry on plates. When dry, the hot peppers can be stored in a spice jar and used as needed in cooking.
• Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla) - what more can I say about Chard? I've blogged often about Chard's healthy nutrition profile and how easy it is to grow. Chard comes in many vibrant colors and varieties. The Chard in our garden (Northern Lights Mix) has been amazing - producing greens for our family all Summer long and even now into the Fall.
• Tomatoes are running out of ripening time! Still, so many new flowers with hopes of growing more tomatoes. Knowing how tomatoes dislike cool temperatures - at this time of year, we start picking them green and allowing them to ripen inside on a sunny windowsill.
• Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) - are now black in color and will be picked and saved as seed or used as beads - a fascinating plant.
• Garden Mums are ablaze in Fall colors!
• Purple Beauty Berry (Callicarpa dichotoma) - these berries feed the birds.
• Inky Fingers Coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) - my absolute favorite Soleno. I took cuttings last night and have about a dozen plants started under grow lights indoors for new plants that will be for outdoor garden planters next year. If you find your local garden centers do not offer some of your favorite coleus, this is something you can do to propagate hard-to-find cultivars.

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
And, have fun at FNCE if you're an RD headed to, or in, Philadelphia
Related Links
Backyard Gardening: Grow your own food, Improve your Health 
Related Articles by Diana Wind, RD
Ayurvedic Herb: Coleus forskeolii  
Homemade Ground Pepper Spices
Job's Tears - A Fascinating Plant
Chiltepin Peppers Garden Spotlight
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Hummingbirds and beautiful blooms Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

September 28, 2012

What happened to the cool fall temperatures? Today is hot and humid here in South Jersey. Our backyard gardens continue to produce herbs and vegetables and are still blooming away. Hummingbirds and monarch butterflies are migrating now too.  

As I strolled through the garden pushing my way past the tall chia that is all over the place, I noticed we have so many green tomatoes left on the vines. Birds and butterflies soared overhead. A hummingbird let me take his picture from a distance while he took a rest in between the dahlias before visiting the Lady in Red Salvias.

Photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Lady in Red Salvia (grown from seeds)
• Rosemary R. officinalis 'Arp'
• Plumeria Frangipani (started from a NOLA cutting!)
• hummingbird in front of Jerusalem Artichoke
• Nicotiana

Planting note: it is still not too late to plant fall crop seeds like Arugula and lettuce. I attempted to sow some today, but mosquitoes chased me back into the house.

Happy and Healthy Gardening!
Related Links
Osmarini Rosmarinus officinalis features Rosemary Roasted Potato Fries recipe
Photo collage Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

The Garden is doing better than the @Eagles! Today in the Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

September 23, 2012

Our fall garden is doing a lot better than the Eagles! Today was much cooler, but sunny and beautiful. The garden continues to produce tomatoes and peppers and is full of unripe green tomatoes and peppers. The race is on to see how many more ripen before our first frost. We were excited to see the CHIA blooming while hummingbirds are still around.

Shown in photo clockwise from top left to right: 

• yellow Goldenrod
• potted Plumera blooming! (we will soon bring the plant indoors because of cool evening temps)
• Jersey tomatoes
• Northern Lights Swiss chard
• Sweet peppers
• Shiso Perilla
• King Harry potatoes
• Italian basil
• Tarahumara CHIA
• Pepperoncini

Other blooms not shown include: Rosemary, Jerusalem artichoke, Job's Tears, Chiltepin peppers.

Happy and Healthy Cooking and Gardening! Tonight, Harry's cooking Potato Pancakes made using our homegrown organic King Harry potatoes (with added carrots).
Photo collage Copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

Food Marketing/Ads continue to tempt us. Weight Management can save your life! @CDCObesity @EatRight

Fast Food Restaurants
Continue to Tempt the Nation

Even in today's obese times with public health improvements of putting calories on menus, offering lower fat choices and fresh garden salads and reducing soda sizes - most advertising dollars are still, to this very day, spent on the highest fat, highest calorie, tastiest foods. After all, fat and salt equal flavor to our taste buds and happiness to our brains. 

The problem is control. In light of the recent soda size limitation in NYC, the controversial calorie question seems to be: who should control available high calorie foods - you, or should government step in? This a heated current debate, which we all have an opinion about.

We can debate all we want, but the obesity epidemic is here and now. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 78 million U.S. adults and about 12.5 million U.S. children and adolescents were obese in 2009-2010. And, obesity statistics continue to rise.

As a clinical out-patient Dietitian, I am counseling kids who tell me about their experience with chest pain and having to get their first EKG (a test that records electrical activity in the heart). Children tell me they never learned how to run because of their weight. 

Obesity is in the news every day of every week. This week, the news reported again on the increasing incidence of children getting high blood pressure... this is not normal. Pediatric hypertension-related hospitalizations in the U.S. practically doubled, from 12,661 in 1997 to 24,602 in 2006.

We should not lose time in the chit-chat and finger-pointing of who should or should not control the foods we eat. We all must be health warriors before the next unplanned doctors visit is yours.

Weight Management is important now more than any other time in U.S. history. We have to continue working together to improve the diets of all Americans both at home and in schools. Pay close attention and monitor everything you buy, cook, eat and drink. 

Don't be tempted to eat unhealthy foods promoted by advertising and marketing. This includes product positioning to lure you in places that sell food. Often times case stacked end caps (soda, chips, cookies, candy) with low price points are not promoting healthy food choices.

Most studies show individuals who are obese have significantly higher risk of death from all causes, compared with healthy weight individuals (Body Mass Index (BMI) 18.5 to 24.9). Obese individuals with high risks may get weight loss bariatric surgery. Over 100,000 bariatric surgeries are now done each year from only 8,597 procedures in 1993.

Create a winning strategy in your mind on how to limit high fat, high calorie, high sodium foods. Work with a Registered Dietitian if you need help.

Blog post and photo copyright (C) 2012 Wind. All rights reserved. The photo is not to pick on Wendy's, they offer more healthful food choices too. I'm picking on advertising a food that is a weakness for most people - French Fries. A small package of Fries contains 320 calories, 350 mg sodium and 16 grams of total fat, which is NOT a healthy choice.

References: 
Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, et al. Cause-Specific Excess Deaths Associated With Underweight, Overweight, and Obesity. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007; 298(17):2028–2037.

Livingston EH. The Incidence of Bariatric Surgery Has Plateaued In the U.S; Am J Surg. 2010 September ; 200(3): 378–385. doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2009.11.007.

Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Data Brief Number 82, January 2012. Prevalence of Obesity in the United States, 2009-2010. CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db82.htm. Accessed 9/22/12.  

American Heart Association 6/2012. More hospitalizations, higher charges, for kids with high blood pressure. http://newsroom.heart.org/pr/aha/more-hospitalizations-higher-charges-235126.aspx Accessed 9/22/12.

Related Links
Obesity and Obesity Statistics
Let's Move 

Whole grain Job's Tears | fascinating natural bead for jewelry #GardenCuizine #gardenchat

Job's Tears

The Most Fascinating Plant 

in Our Garden

Adults and children find Job's Tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) a fascinating plant. The seeds are large and easily planted by children, making Job's Tears a good selection in a Children's Garden. Botanically and as a natural food source, Job's Tears is a member of the family Poaceae (grass family) and is considered a gluten-free, whole grain. 

We grow Job's Tears in pots on a sunny porch. To me, the tall green blades look similar to lemon grass. By the end of the summer at around this time (early September), perfectly round bead seeds emerge like magic.  

The seeds develop a hard outer shell and are much too difficult to hull the quantity needed for use as a whole grain. Hulled Job's Tears (hato mugi) grain can be found in Korean specialty markets.  

When left on the plant to mature, green seeds the size of canna seeds - about 1/4-inch in diameter - eventually turn darker in color. Homegrown seeds can then be picked, dried and saved to grow more plants the following season or used as actual beads in jewelry making.

Over 30,000 people have read my article on Dave's Gardens!

Check it out ~ Includes photos of handmade Jewelry
Job's Tears, A Fascinating Plant

Photo Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved.

Summer's over, but not for the Garden! Today in Our Garden #GardenCuizine

 click on the photo to get a full view

Today In Our Garden

South Jersey
USDA Zone 7a (formerly zone 6b)

September 8, 2012

Back to School and "finally", cooler air temperatures - signals that Summer is soon coming to an end, but not for the Garden! The garden will continue to bless us with many blooms and fresh organically grown veggies right up until a killing frost.

Gardening never gets boring. No season is ever exactly the same. This year, we've been having great success with Jersey tomatoes and Swiss chard. Nutritious Swiss chard has earned a forever place in our backyard garden for producing all summer long.  

We're still picking Italian basil in patches and breaking the leaves down in a food processor, preserving it simply in olive oil (faster than pesto) for later use in cooking. And, we've learned that potatoes can safely wait beneath the ground and dug up as needed.

Shown in the photo clockwise from top left to right:

• Japanese Windflower - Anemone 'Hadspen Abundance'
• Tarahumara Chia
• Red Basil
• Garlic Chives - Allium tuberosum
• Dahlia
• Northern Lights Swiss Chard
• Plumeria Frangipani buds getting ready to bloom. Can't wait to see this beauty from NOLA!
• Dragon fly resting on the fence
• Rutgers tomatoes 

Many vegetables (especially tomatoes, basil and peppers) can be easily grown from seeds started indoors (around St. Patty's Day) and transplanted out in early Spring. Start planning a garden now for next year and experience the joy of having your own backyard produce market.

Garden Note: You don't have to wait until next year; it's still not too late to plant Fall veggies right in your own backyard or in pots on a sunny porch or deck. Try arugula, kale, radishes or lettuce - all are easy to grow Fall veggies. Having a cover to keep frost off the plants helps extend the growing season. Fall Equinox is officially here September 22, 4:44 P.M. EDT.

Happy Gardening!
Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

My Kind of Hot Chocolate * Jamaican Hot Chocolate Peppers! #GardenCuizine

Jamaican 

Hot Chocolate Peppers

In early Spring this plant didn't look so hot. Today, it's smoking hot with Capsicum chinense Jamaican Hot peppers ready for harvest! The flames of Jamaican Hots are right up there with super hot 100,000+ Scoville unit heat of Habanero chili and Scotch Bonnet hot peppers.

Jamaican Hots need a long growing season before the fruits turn shiny, chocolate brown in color. We always bring a few select potted, gourmet, pepper plants indoors in the Fall to allow any leftover green peppers to finish ripening. The plants remain indoors until Spring at which time we put them back out in full sun. Some years yield better than others.

Jamaican Hots are only 1 1/2 to 2-inches long and resemble prunes in size and shape. Their strong smoky, Caribbean flavor makes a great addition to salsa or hot sauce.

Related Link
Jamaican Hot Chocolate

Jersey Tomato Tasting at Pope's Gardens #GardenCuizine #fb

Jersey Tomato Tasting

Labor Day Weekend! 

Pope's Gardens rolled out the tomato red carpet for their customers today and will again tomorrow for taste testing over 30 varieties of organically grown tomatoes. Owners Joan and Jim Pope plated up free tomato tastes of everything from cherry tomatoes to beefsteak heirlooms. Nothing beats picking Jersey fresh cherry tomatoes straight off the vines! They also had many varieties of peppers on display, including Scotch Bonnet, Pepperoncini and Thai hot. 

Jersey tomato taste test trials included:
Cherry and Grape tomatoes  

Sungold
Sunsugar
Juliet (grape)
Sweet Million

Black Cherry 

Supersweet 100
Riesentraube (grape)

Modern Hybrid tomatoes 
Supersonic
Bush Big Boy
Big Boy
Early Girl
Better Boy
Lemon Boy (yellow)
Golden Jubilee (yellow)
La Roma (plum)
Roma (plum)
Jetstar
Goliath
Celebrity
Supersteak
Beefsteak 

Beefmaster

Heirloom tomatoes
Belgium Giant 

Hillbilly 

Amish Paste (plum)

Black Krim 

Old German 

Rutgers 

Brandywine 

Sausage  (we didn't try sausage, but heard it tastes great!)

White  (sweet and delicious!)

Box Car Willie 

Mortgage Lifter 

Arkansas Traveler 

Ox Heart  

Cherokee Purple

Our favorite top 3 cherry tomatoes were Sunsugar, Black Cherry and Riesentraube ("giant bunch of grapes" German heirloom grown by the Pennsylvania Dutch). We were familiar with the tastes of many of the large tomatoes on display. Among our favorites are Rutgers (of course!) and Brandywine. White tomatoes were a new one for us - they were more yellow than "white". We were impressed with their delicious, sweet taste.

Saturday was a very hot and humid today in South Jersey. Mom took a few tastes, then tried to stay cool, waiting patiently in the shade while we strolled around Pope's Gardens to look at their goat, cat, ducks, bunnies, Scottish Highland cattle, Emu and other animals.

Do you think I would leave a garden center empty handed? Impossible! Pope's Gardens offers a wide variety of annual and perennial plants. We picked out a few new Asters and Mums, along with Salvia uliginosa - bog sage, Fountain Grass Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Red Head', Dallas Blues grass Panicum virgatum and Crepe Myrtle - Lagerstroma Pink Valour.

Happy Gardening and Healthy Cooking with Vitamin C-rich tomatoes. And, best wishes for a safe and Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Related Links

Story behind Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes
Photos and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.

More Jersey fresh FIGS picked off the tree today! #GardenCuizine

More Jersey fresh F I G S harvested today from a local Italian family's organic backyard garden. 

Hope our little fig tree produces figs someday! 

Spero che il nostro piccolo albero di fico produce fichi un giorno!

Note: the wicker basket shown was handmade from a basket weaver in Sicily.

Fiberific FIG butter recipe! #GardenCuizine

 Homemade Fig Butter
 High Fiber * Honey Sweetened

Our young fig tree is still far from yielding fresh figs. Most of our South Jersey summer has been so dry that our little fig tree is happy just to be alive, let alone bear fruit. A recent culinary treat was coming across fresh figs being offered from an Italian woman nearby my office in Vineland, New Jersey. She shares her prolific organically grown fig harvest with the community.

One order, led to another and another. We have so many nutritious, fiber-rich figs, but you can only eat so many! And, unlike apples that have a decent shelf life, fresh figs only last a few days. No wonder you usually just find dried figs at the market. What can you do to preserve figs? Drying them was not an option, since we don't own a dehydrator. Fig jam came to mind. 

After making our first batch of Fig "Jam", Harry decided it was better named - Fig "Butter". Figs are rich and filling and make a spread that tasted rich, like apple butter. Apple butter just doesn't have the little visible seeds. And fyi, you can use store-bought dried figs to make nutritious fig butter - just add enough water to hydrate and soften the figs first. 

Using the recipes provided by Pomona's Universal Pectin, here is how we made our fig jam, aka fig butter, using fresh figs. Enjoy it in your sweet and savory recipes.

Yields: about 5 cups
Ingredients  
4 cups ripe Figs (3 1/2 cups will be okay too)

1/4 cup Lemon Juice (we didn't have any fresh lemons at the time for lemon juice, so we used Key Lime Juice and it worked just fine)

Pomona Universal Pectin (a low methoxyl brand of pectin extracted from citrus peel; it comes with pectin powder and calcium powder): 3 teaspoons pectin powder; 4 teaspoons calcium water (the calcium water recipe comes with the Pomona Pectin).
 
1/2 cup Honey

Putting it all together

• Wash the figs and trim off the stems.
• Let the figs get really ripe. We put them in a plastic baggie in the fridge and in few days they were juicy and breaking open. If your figs are not really ripe and soft, you can cook them with a little water to soften them before smashing. 
• Directly in a medium size sauce pot, smash the figs using a potato masher.
• Add the citrus juice and calcium water. Mix well. Bring mixture to a boil.
•  In a separate small bowl combine the pectin with the honey. I noticed if you don't combine the pectin with the sweetener first and add it directly to the fruit, it will clump up and not dissolve well.
• Bring back to a boil. Stir in the pectin-honey blend. Remove from heat.
• Puree the honey sweetened fig mixture in a blender or using a hand held mixer.
• The fig mixture is ready for canning. Follow water process canning guidelines. 

Buon Appetito!

GardenCuizine Nutrient Analysis Fresh Figs: calculated from USDA nutrient values
Good Source of dietary Fiber and Potassium
3 medium Figs (150g): dietary Fiber 4g (18%DV); Potassium 348mg (10%DV); Vitamin B6 0.12mg (8%DV); Magnesium 26mg (7%DV); Calcium 52mg (5%DV); Vitamin C 3mg (5%DV); Vitamin A 213IU (4%DV); Iron .56mg (3%DV)

Percent Daily Values (%DV) are based on a caloric intake of 2,000 calories for adults and children age 4 or older
Related Links

Uncommon Nutrition from the Common Fig - Ficus carica

Figs Fruits and Veggies More Matters
Pomona's Universal Pectin
Fig Butter, Goat Cheese and Carmelized Onion Crostini recipe

Photo collage and blog post Copyright (C)2012 Wind. All rights reserved.