I hope you really enjoy this savory fig jam recipe, you guys. Technically a fig chutney, no matter what you call it, it will be the star condiment on a cheese plate!
The sweet/savory goodness is hard to resist, and if you’re new to savory jams, I’ll give you lots of ideas for using it. Don’t miss my recipe for “regular” fig jam either. It’s spiked with some vanilla and black pepper which makes it a bit more complex than other fruit jams.
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Fig Chutney, at a Glance
✅Skill Level: Beginner
✅Skills: Simmering, Balancing Flavors
✅Type: Chunky, Savory Fruit Spread
✅Number of Ingredients: 11
✅Prep Time: 10 minutes
✅Cook Time: 45 minutes
✅Yield: about 1 pint
Jump Straight to the Recipe
I just made this and oh my gosh – what a revelation. Once you learn this general technique you can totally make it your own! Thanks Jenni and everyone else – hurry up and make this!
Reader Beth
What is Fig Chutney (and Why You Should Make This Recipe)
Chutney is an Indian condiment made of fruit and/or vegetables with sugar, spices, and vinegar
In no way am I calling this chutney a traditional Indian condiment, because it is not.
But, I do take cues from the definition of an Indian chutney and use the same flavor elements with figs as the star.
This fig chutney, or savory fig jam, is sweet, tangy, spicy, caramelized, and lip-smacking.
You’ll want to make this recipe because the flavors are nuanced and balanced. All the elements work together with no one dominating.
It is just sweet enough, just spicy enough, just tangy enough, and just lip-smacking enough.
For me, so adjust according to your taste. I’ll tell you how and where to make substitutions and adjustments so you can sally forth without fear.
If this sounds like your kind of jam, I have a favor to ask:
When you do make this recipe, it will help me and other readers if you:
✅Rate the recipes using the stars in the recipe card⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
✅Leave a review when prompted in the recipe card (If it’s a positive review, and I hope it is, I’ll use it in the post as social proof)✍️
✅Leave a comment on the post📝
Thank you so much!😘
Here’s how to make it. If you know how to make jams and chutneys, feel free to skip down to the recipe.
How to Make Savory Fig Jam
Based on the general definition of chutney, here are my fruits/veggies, sugar, spices, and vinegar.
I’m also giving you substitutes for most ingredients.
I really want you to make this jam your own and use what you have. Keep in mind the “rules” of fruit and/or vegetables, sugar, spices, and vinegar, and go for it.
Fruits and Vegetables
- Figs: I used fresh figs a friend gave me. You could use dried figs if you would like. Other likely fruity candidates are plums, cherries, peaches, green tomatoes, or apples
- Shallots: I used 2 whole pretty big shallots, sliced really thinly, but you can cut back to one if you’d rather. Also consider using sweet onions rather than shallot, especially if that’s what you have on hand
- Golden raisins: I used a large handful. Any dried fruit would work well: snipped dried apricots, dates, dried cherries, dried cranberries, or “regular” dark raisins all would work fine. Of course, dried figs would work as well
Sugar
- Thai palm sugar: Any sugar will work. I love using Thai palm sugar (which I get at our local Asian grocery store or from Amazon) because I really like the flavor of it and that it truly is minimally processed. But any conventional sweetener will do here including white sugar, brown sugar, honey, agave, etc.
- Balsamic vinegar: Gives a lovely, sweet tang to the jam. Substitute blush vinegar, white balsamic, rice wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar
Spices
- Mustard Seed: I love the heat and textural pop that mustard seed brings to this recipe.Whole mustard seeds along with the seeds from the figs make for a delightful texture as well as some mustardy heat. Use 1/2 teaspoon for milder flavor and up to 2 teaspoons for a big punch of mustardy goodness. You may also omit if you are not a fan of mustard
- Salt: Brings all the flavors into focus. Don’t leave it out
- Pepper: Several grinds. If you have Tellicherry peppercorns, they bring a nice pungency to the mix, but any freshly ground black pepper will do
- Sweet Hot Sauce: I used a peach and onion hot sauce that I purchased locally. Use your favorite hot sauce, but I do recommend a fruit-based hot sauce if you can find one. This peach and Vidalia onion hot sauce has great reviews.
Vinegar
- Balsamic Vinegar (doing double duty as both a sweetener and a tangy element): See above under “sugar”
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Since the balsamic didn’t bring quite the zing I wanted all by itself, I backed it up with a nice, “bitey” apple cider vinegar. Since you’re cooking it anyway, no need to get fancy with the kind with “the mother” in it, unless that’s what you already have
I also add one other ingredient that is unexpected but brings additional depth to the jam.
I add a teaspoon or two of umami-packed fish sauce.
Feel free to leave it out to keep the recipe vegetarian, but it really does add a little something extra, and I recommend using it if you have it.
Don’t buy it especially to use in this recipe, but if you already have a pretty well-stocked Asian pantry, go ahead and pull that bottle down! Sub a little Worcestershire–that will work well.
How to Make Fig Chutney
I am die hard fig fan and I was psyched to try a jam that is more savory. The shallots with the figs made this so good. Thank you!!
Reader SAndi
This recipe is really easy to make, y’all.
In a nutshell:
- Slowly bring figs, shallots, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and Thai palm sugar to a boil.
- Add raisins, mustard seed, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, and fish sauce.
- Reduce heat to keep at a simmer.
- Reduce the jam, stirring frequently, until thick and deep, caramel-brown color.
It’s important to taste your jam towards the end of cooking. That way, you can adjust the seasonings so it tastes just the way you want it to.
Adjust salt, heat, tang, etc, all according to your taste.
Visual How-To
Here are a few video clips that will give you visual clues about what your jam should look like at a few key stages.
I hope you find them helpful!
1)This is the jam at “stage one,” with the figs, Thai palm sugar balsamic, shallots, salt, and pepper at the beginning of the cooking process.
You can see me trying to “smush” one of the wee pucks of palm sugar. It goes much more smoothly once the mixture begins to heat up, and they smush and melt into the mix very easily.
2)After just a couple of minutes of cooking, you can see how much wetter the mixture is as the shallots and figs release their liquid.
At this point, the palm sugar will mix in much more smoothly.
3)Once everything comes to a boil and all the sugar has melted, add the rest of the ingredients: raisins, hot sauce, mustard seed, apple cider vinegar, and fish sauce.
Here’s what the mixture will look like about halfway through simmering.
Note how much darker it is as the flavors concentrate.
4)Notice how I “fold” the mixture over towards the end of cooking.
This is so I can expose as much of it to the direct heat on the bottom of the pan, ensuring controlled caramelization and deepening of the flavor.
Equipment Recommendations
Aside from a sturdy saucepan and a wooden spoon, my favorite tool for making this jam is a meat masher. Pampered Chef pioneered this handy tool as the “Mix ‘N Chop.”
It allows me to smash up the chutney as it cooks while still allowing for a nice, rustic texture. I also use mine for cooking ground beef and sausage.
I thought it was a gimmicky product until I got one and began using it. It is really useful, and I use mine at least once or twice a week.
Useful not only for breaking up sausage and other ground meats while cooking, I also use this to roughly chop any soft foods right in the pan. It works great on whole canned tomatoes and also is really useful for cooking up any hash on the stove.
Tips for Success
Cooking over high heat will buy you burnt chutney that won’t have a deep flavor. Keep the heat on low to medium-low after the initial boil. This allows the flavors time to mingle, concentrate and deepen and also keeps your chutney from scorching.
Adjust the texture of the jam by pulsing in a food processor after cooking. Or leave it alone for a more rustic texture. Puree it smooth, and you’ll basically have fig and raisin ketchup!
Recipe Q & A
As written, all ingredients are gluten-free. If you want to make a vegetarian version and you decide to opt for soy sauce instead of fish sauce, that ingredient is not gluten-free. Use coconut aminos instead, or just omit that ingredient altogether. Your chutney will still be delicious!
Since it is cooked down and is relatively low-moisture and high-sugar, it should be just fine for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Most likely, it will be fine for longer than that, but I always err on the side of caution when it comes to food safety.
I am not a canner, so I don’t optimize my recipes for the correct pH for canning. If you want to make a chutney for long-term storage, please use a recipe that is made to be canned.
Serving Suggestions
The sweet-savory combination can go places that a regular jam cannot.
This chutney makes a great alternative to the balsamic/onion/fig jam I call for in this grilled pizza recipe. I topped mine with goat cheese, purple potatoes, and roasted red peppers, but you can top yours however you like.
Here are some other ideas for you:
- as a condiment for meats or burgers. Try it on my onion burgers.
- as a sandwich spread. I can see a grilled cheese with this savory fig chutney, brie, and ham being pretty amazing.
- Serve it right alongside your sweet jams for a breakfast/brunch toast bar. (Label it so you don’t take folks by surprise, unless you like doing that!)
- Try it spread on freshly made asiago bagels
- present your savory jam as a condiment option on your cheese board or charcuterie board
- Stir a bit into a pan sauce or gravy Simply swap out the figs and balsamic in the linked recipe with some of your savory jam. Huzzah!
- Use it as a topping for baked brie.
More Savory Jams and Chutneys
Questions?
If you have any questions about this post or recipe, I am happy to help.
Simply leave a comment here and I will get back to you soon. I also invite you to ask question in my Facebook group, Fearless Kitchen Fun.
If your question is more pressing, please feel free to email me. I should be back in touch ASAP, as long as I’m not asleep.
A Note About Measurements
My recipes are almost all written by weight, including liquids, unless otherwise specified.
For accuracy and consistency of results, I encourage you to buy–and use–a kitchen scale.
I promise that baking and cleanup will be so much quicker and easier.
This is the scale that I recommend for home use. I have owned and used one for years.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
Love Fig Chutney? Please Rate and/or Leave a Review. Thanks!
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You can use the stars to rate 1-5 (5 is best), and leave a review in the comments. It helps me make adjustments if any are needed, and comments help others decide whether the recipe is worth making.
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Thank you so much for taking the time!
Savory Fig Jam/ Fig Raisin Chutney
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups fresh figs rinsed and stems removed
- 2 medium shallots peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- several grindings fresh black pepper
- 2 1/2-3 oz Thai palm sugar
- ⅓ cup golden raisins
- 1/2-1 teaspoon whole mustard seed
- 2 Tablespoons sweet hot sauce more or less, to taste
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 teaspoons fish sauce optional (See Notes)
Instructions
- In a cold, medium saucepan, add figs, shallots, salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and Thai palm sugar.
- Turn heat to medium and bring to a boil, smashing the Thai sugar against the sides of the pan to help it melt into the figs.
- Add the raisins, mustard seed, hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, and fish sauce (if using).
- Bring back to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low-to-medium-low, and simmer for 30-45 minutes until the juices are nicely thickened and jammy.
- As the juices concentrate and the mixture gets thicker, stir occasionally to keep it from sticking too much.
- I actually like mine to stick and caramelize a little as it deepens the flavor. Just watch it carefully so caramelized doesn't turn into burnt!
- Taste and adjust the seasonings.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, y’all! I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and hopefully also learned a thing or two.
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And there you have it, friends.
Enjoy the fig chutney in all the ways.
Thanks for spending some time with me today. Take care, y’all.
Join in Today!
Making this now. Didn’t have a “fruity” hot sauce, so added half an ahi mango pepper. Also realized I’m out of balsalmic vinegar, so used some balsamic glaze I had in fridge. The taste is awesome, and the fish sauce is such a brilliant idea! Next: serious eats fig newtons!
Love your substitutions–spot on, Cindy! Fish sauce should be in everyone’s “secret ingredient” cabinet. 🙂 I love a good Fig Newton too. Let me know how the SE version is!
I’m loving all the flavors in this fig jam. Never tried Thai palm sugar before. I love learning about new ingredients.
I really like the Thai palm sugar a lot! The flavor is sort of floral and just a naturally, unprocessed sweet, goodness. So delicious.
I just made this and oh my gosh – what a revelation. Once you learn this general technique you can totally make it your own! Thanks Jenni and everyone else – hurry up and make this!
I am so glad that you made your own version, and I think the plum combo sounds fantastic! Now you too are the queen of savory jam!
I just made this and oh my gosh – what a revelation. Once you learn this general technique you can totally make it your own! Thanks Jenni and everyone else – hurry up and make this!
I am die hard fig fan and I was psyched to try a jam that is more savory. The shallots with the figs made this so good. Thank you!!