Fig Vincotto – Traditional Apulian Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 20 kg of ripe and healthy figs;
• Water to taste;
• non-stick pans;
• wooden spoon;
• bottles

STEP

1. Wash the figs, cut the stalks;
2. Cut the figs into 4 pieces (without removing the skin) and press lightly with your hands;
3. Place the figs in the pot, fill with cold water, the figs must be covered abundantly with water;
4. Leave the figs to cook for at least five hours, stirring them from time to time with a wooden spoon and being very careful not to let them stick to the bottom, otherwise they would become bitter;
5. It’s ready when you press the mixture against the side of the pan with a ladle and it’s all mushy;
6. Turn off the heat under the first pot, remove the figs with a slotted spoon and place them in the cloth placed in the colander. Squeeze well until nothing comes out. This way you will be sure to get the most out of your figs. You can throw away what remains in the cloth;
7. The resulting liquid must be put back to cook to thicken and gradually it will reduce and become dark. I cooked it for another 4 hours, stirring often with a wooden spoon. However, the times are very indicative and depend on how many figs you cooked, how sugary they were and how much water you managed to obtain. In any case, the result must be a very dense dark liquid. Be careful, however, not to reduce it too much, because it could be bitter to the taste;
8. When you see that the liquid has thickened and become stringy, you can turn off the heat;
9. Once ready, you can store it in sterilized glass bottles. If you put it while it is still boiling hot and immediately close the bottle cap, a vacuum will form and you can store it for a very long time. Or close the bottles and place them in a large pot, inserting cotton cloths between the bottles. Fill the pot with water, bring to a boil and cook for about 15/20 minutes;
10. Our fig vincotto is ready, now we can use it to prepare traditional Apulian desserts, such as Cartellate;
11. Apulian shorts;
12. Breasts;
13. And Sasanelli Pugliesi..

NOTE

10 kg of figs are needed to obtain about 1 litre of cooked wine. They must be washed very carefully under running water. Make sure that they are perfectly whole, healthy and very ripe.

The fig vincotto can last for years in your pantry so you can always have it ready for your preparations.