Limoncello & Rosemary Fig Jam

We have at least 6 (I'm too lazy to go out and actually check) Fig trees at our new house in Italy. Apparently that is quite a bit, because we are practically giving figs away. Unfortunately figs, although being absolutely sweet and delicious, don't last long. This is the reason I had never seen a fig in a grocery store until a visit to my sister-in-law in Northern California when I saw a basket of fresh figs and had to buy it. Fresh is absolutely amazing if you can get your hands on some. But hurry up and use them!
Because of our crazy surplus, the easiest thing to do with them is make jam. That way you can enjoy them all year long. I have also dehydrated and froze them, but I like canning them into jam the best, because its a finished product, and it makes a great gift!
My first batch of jam was just regular fig jam. But with this latest batch, I wanted to make something different. I looked around on Pintrest, and found that a lot of people were putting liqueur into the jam, like brandy and grand marnier. I thought, hey, I don't have any of those, but I do have Limoncello from a friend, and some rosemary outside, so why not combine these? If I may say so myself, it turned out fantastic!

So Many Figs!

Limoncello & Rosemary Fig Jam
adapted from the Ball Blue Book guide to preserving

Yield: about 5 Pints (I ended up having 4 pints and 4 half pints, but only because I added another 2 cups of figs)

• 5 pounds of Figs
• 6 cups of sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2-3 tablespoons of Limoncello
• a few sprigs of Rosemary
• 3/4 cup water if your figs aren't very juicy

The Rosemary on top of the jam. The plant was blooming with beautiful blue flowers. 

To prepare the figs: Completely cover figs with boiling water. Let stand for 10 minutes. This allows the figs to become a nice gooey mess. Drain, stem, and chop figs. Measure out 2 quarts of chopped figs.

To Make the jam: combine figs, sugar, and water(optional) in a large saucepot. Bring slowly to a boil, stiring until the sugar dissolves. After rinsing the rosemary, add to the pot. keep the rosemary in the pot for as long as you want, just know the longer it stays the more rosemary flavor you'll get in the jam. I left mine in for about 10-15 minutes. Remove the rosemary, and make sure you remove any leaves that got left behind. Cook the jam rapidly to gelling point (Or however long before that, I like mine slightly less than Jelly). As the mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.
Add lemon juice and cook a few minutes longer. skim off foam if necessary. Add Limoncello and stir to combine. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Here you are! let me know what you think :-)