A Porch of My Own

A Porch of My Own

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Mama's Fig Preserves and Homemade Biscuits

I just ran across Mama's Fig Preserve Recipe. It's very simple but it has been years since I made it and couldn't remember exactly what she did. You can make as few or as many jars at a time as you like, which is great for processing them as they become ripe. 


She always peeled her figs. Most people don't but they are so much better if you peel them. I would not recommend doing them without peeling. The peels are too thick and sometimes bitter. We always had a fig tree in our backyard, so we were never without fig preserves. Served on a hot homemade biscuit - yum, you can't beat it! Might as well put a little butter on that biscuit first too.


This biscuit recipe has been in our family for years. It was originally Grandma Hattie's recipe and Mamow and Mama used it all our lives. It's easy and the best I've ever had. Puts a crusty bottom on the biscuits!


Fig Preserves
Peel figs. Using 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water, mix enough in large pot to provide enough syrup for the amount of figs you have. Bring this to a boil. Drop peeled figs in. Cook until thick or until figs are transparent. 


Ladle into sterilized jars that you have kept hot. Top with lids (also kept hot) and jar rings. Check when cool to make sure that all have sealed. If any don't seal, store in refrigerator. 


Homemade Biscuits
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put a heaping big spoonful (approximately 1/3 cup) Crisco in biscuit pan and put in oven to melt.


Mix together:
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
(you can use self-rising flour instead and don't have to add the baking powder and salt)


Add:
1 cup buttermilk (add 1 tsp vinegar to regular milk if you don't have buttermilk)


Stir together and add more milk as need to make a gooey dough. Sprinkle with flour and dump out of floured surface. Sprinkle with flour as needed so that dough is not sticky and can be worked without sticking to fingers. You are looking for a dough that feels light, not heavy, so you need to add more milk than you might think, then add the flour on the outside of the dough so you can work with it. If not your biscuits will be too heavy and not good.


Knead 5 or 6 times, not too much. Pat into a circle about 1/2" thick. Cut biscuits with biscuit cutter or glass turned upside down. Keep patting left over dough into a circle and cutting biscuits until all dough is used.


Take the pan with the melted Crisco out of the oven. Dip each biscuit into the melted Crisco and turn over, so that both top and bottom have the Crisco on them, and put the biscuit into the pan. Continue until all biscuits are in pan. 


Bake approximately 20-30 minutes until golden brown.












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