I went to see our good friend, Barry at the Bahai Farm in Penfield yesterday. We walked, chatted and picked jammy figs, which I’m turning into the world’s best tasting laxative…Syrup of Figs.
My recipe is pretty straightforward –
Equal amounts of Figs, Sugar and Water plus a squeeze of Lemon juice.
That’s all pretty standard but I add a little bonus – a teaspoonful of Fennel Seeds. I do this because, the constituents in the Figs that have a laxative effect can cause a little griping if you take too much. The wonderful aromatic oils in the Fennel relax the smooth muscles in the gut, easing any kind of cramping.
Chop the Figs, and mix the ingredients into a pot.
Bring to a low boil and simmer until half the volume is remaining (like a decoction), stirring frequently.
Strain and filter the liquid – usually a long, slow job but Dannies Farm have lent me their honey strainer, so the process should be tidier at least. Of course, if you make and take the syrup correctly, you’ll never have to strain again! Sorry. It was too good an opportunity to miss!
Bottle and store.
To use the syrup, take 1 tsp several times a day, and don’t go too far from home!
Another option –
If you don’t want to or can’t cook the mix, simply mix the sugar and figs together (without the water) in a big bowl and leave them for 24-48 hours. Leave them covered too. This way, the sugar will pull the moisture from the figs, creating an amazingly rich syrup. It’s similar to the Onion throat syrup I posted about a while back.
Other herb pages on Ligaya Garden
We cover a lot of ground on many herb related topics here on our website. There are whole pages devoted to different topics as well as frequent posts. Some of the links are –
