What to Eat with Fig Jam: Cheese, Charcuterie and Other Pairings
Fig jam is the most useful jar on a cheese board. It is deep, honeyed and only lightly acidic, with the crunch of fig seeds, and its sweetness flatters salt: it makes a sharp cheese taste rounder and a mild one more interesting. Here is what to serve it with, and what else to do with the jar.
The best cheeses for fig jam
| Cheese | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Brie and Camembert | Soft, buttery and a little earthy; the jam adds the sweetness they lack. Warm a Camembert and spoon the jam on top. |
| Fresh goat cheese | Tangy and creamy; fig jam is its classic partner on toast. |
| Manchego | Firm, nutty and salty. The Spanish habit of serving it with quince paste works just as well with fig. |
| Blue cheese | Roquefort, Stilton or Gorgonzola: salt and depth against sweet fruit. |
| Aged Comté, Gouda or cheddar | Crystalline, savory cheeses that the jam softens. |
| Burrata and ricotta | Cool and milky; a spoonful of fig jam with black pepper and olive oil makes a first course. |
Three fig jam recipes from The Lello Kitchen
Warm Camembert with fig jam, burrata with fig jam and warm goat cheese toasts with fig jam. None needs more than a hot oven or a good knife and a few minutes of work.
Beyond the cheese board
- Charcuterie. With prosciutto, salami, pâté or a terrine, where it does the job of a chutney.
- A glaze. Warm 3 tablespoons fig jam with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and brush it over pork tenderloin, duck breast or chicken thighs in the last minutes of roasting.
- A dressing. Whisk 1 tablespoon fig jam with 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 3 tablespoons olive oil, for bitter leaves with pear and walnuts.
- Sandwiches. On a ham and Brie baguette, or in a grilled cheese with arugula.
- Breakfast. On buttered toast or a croissant, or stirred into thick yogurt.
- Baking. In thumbprint cookies, under the fruit in a tart, or swirled through a cheesecake.
What makes a good fig jam
A short ingredient list, with fruit first. Les Confitures à l’Ancienne fig jam has four ingredients, figs, cane sugar, lemon and pectin, and is cooked in copper cauldrons by Maison Andrésy, a family jam house started in 1952 in the orchards west of Paris and run today by the founders’ grandchildren. In French it is a confiture; our guide to confit and confiture explains how that differs from a confit.
How to store fig jam
Unopened, keep it in a cupboard until the date on the lid, which is a quality date rather than a safety date; see our note on best-by dates. Once open, refrigerate the jar, use a clean spoon, and it will keep for a few months.
Questions
What cheese goes best with fig jam? Brie, fresh goat cheese and Manchego are the classics; blue cheese is the bold choice.
Should fig jam be served warm or cold? At room temperature on a board; warm when it is a glaze or spooned over baked cheese.
Is fig jam the same as fig preserves? Close enough in the kitchen. Preserves usually keep larger pieces of fruit; jam is smoother.
What crackers go with fig jam? Plain, crisp ones, so the jam and the cheese lead, or a slice of walnut bread.
Shop Les Confitures à l’Ancienne fig jam and the rest of our honey, confitures and flower confits.