Another Fig Preserve (Dutch, from a very old Cape Recipe Book)

Ingredients

• 100 figs unripe figs
• 2 tablespoonfuls lime
• 3 quarts clean water
• 1 teaspoonful carbonate of soda
• 1 tablespoonful salt
• 2 pounds more than the weight of fruit sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

Instructions

1. Scrape unripe figs and cut a slit across the top, not too large.
2. Lay the figs in a basin of cold water in which two tablespoonfuls of lime have been put.
3. Place a plate with a weight on top of the figs to keep them submerged.
4. After about twelve hours, take the figs out and wash them clean.
5. Have ready a saucepan with about three quarts of clean water, one teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and one tablespoonful of salt.
6. Let the figs boil up in this saucepan, keeping it open.
7. Take out the figs when soft enough to be easily pierced with a reed.
8. Drain the figs through a colander or on a cloth.
9. Take two pounds of sugar more than the weight of fruit and make a clear syrup using one cup of water to one cup of sugar.
10. When the syrup is strained and cool, lay the figs in it for a night.
11. The next day, preserve the figs on a slow fire until the fruit is quite clear.
12. Cork the preserve in small jars.