Sep 23 2008
Dulce de higos or fig preserves in syrup
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Published by Laylita at 7:12 pm under All, Desserts, Fruit, Holidays, Kid friendly, South America
Anyone familiar with traditional South American desserts knows that we prefer to keep them simple, especially since the main meal tends to be very filling. Desserts were not necessarily an expected component at the end of each meal and when we did have dessert it always felt like a special event; a typical dessert in Ecuador might be a perfectly ripe fruit, such as a slice of papaya with a drizzle of lime juice or a piece of babaco with a little bit of honey, or maybe a refreshing helado de paila, a fluffy bizcochuelo, a crunchy cocada or a sweet fig preserve served with a piece a quesillo or queso. It is also frequent to eat sweets in larger quantity with afternoon coffee rather than for dessert, after a large meal sometimes you want just a little something sweet that adds that finishing touch and doesn’t leave you feeling like you had too much. Dulce de higos, also known as higos pasados, are fig preserves cooked in a syrup made with panela or hard brown cane sugar; they are a very typical dessert in Ecuadorian households, and are one of those desserts that you might be served both in the home of humble farmer who lives in a house with no electricity, or at a fancy dinner of a wealthy businessperson in one of main cities, personally I would choose the figs made by the farmer, from my experience those are usually the best.
The fig preserves are made through a 3 day process: first they soaked in water for a day, next they are boiled in water, then left to soak another day, then drain and finally boiled in the syrup made with the panela and spices. It is very important to let the figs soak enough, this helps keep them tender, I’ve tried to take shortcuts before and ended up with very dry and rubbery figs. The spices are optional and the figs taste just as good without them, so it’s just a matter of preference, I personally love adding the spices, but since my husband had this annoying dislike for cinnamon I sometimes make them without any spices. These figs are very sweet, you can reduce the amount of panela if you would like them to be a little bit less sweet; also because they are so sweet they are much better eaten with cheese or even with bread than alone. Dulce de higos are usually served with generous slice of fresh cheese called quesillo, you can use fresh mozzarella instead of quesillo, some other good options include queso fresco, farmer’s cheese or curds; you can choose your favorite cheese or also try these fig preserves with a few different types of cheese.
Ingredients:
20 fresh ripe but firm figs, washed
Pinch of baking soda
1 ¾ lb panela or hard brown cane sugar
Cinnamon sticks, cloves and other spices – optional
Water
Sides – Slices of cheese
Preparation:
- Make a crosswise cut on the thin side of each fig.
- Place the figs in a bowl, cover them with water and let them soak for 24 hours.
- Rinse the figs, place them in a saucepan, and cover them with water, about 8 cups.
- Add the baking soda and bring the water to a boil over medium heat, cook for about 15-20 minutes or until soft.
- Remove from the heat and let the figs soak in the water they cooked in for another 24 hours.
- Drain all the water from figs and gently squeeze each fig to remove as much water as possible.
- Place the panela or hard brown cane sugar and the spices in a large saucepan, cover with about 6 cups of water and cook on low heat until the panela is completely dissolved.
- Add the figs and simmer until the panela syrup begins to thicken, at least a couple of hours, stir occasionally.
- Serve either warm or cold with a slice of quesillo, fresh mozzarella, queso fresco, farmer’s cheese or the cheese of your preference.
Those figs look delicious! Mmmhhhh, with fresh cheese, it must taste fantastic!
Cheers,
Rosa
Hi. I was wondering if you have any ideas about mail ordering some of these ingredients, such as the sugar used in this recipe (my favorite dessert), or tomate de arbol concentrate, etc. I live in the Northeast now, but lived in Quito for a year of college and I miss the food so much!! We do have aji delivered whenever our Ecuadorian friends come to visit, but I would love to make some of my own. Any ideas?
The figs that I find in the US markets always seem too ripe to handle this type of cooking. A minute in the microwave with some syrup or honey is about all the cooking they can take.
I believe the cone shaped piloncillo from Mexico is the same as the Ecuadorian panella or raspadura, except for shape. It is fairly easy to find in the Hispanic section of many groceries. I have also seen bowl shaped blocks of this sugar from Columbia in shops that specialize in pan-American products.
Following a recipe in a cookbook that I bought in Quito years ago, I have made a sweet like this using winter squash. Just cut the squash into large chunks and poach in the same syrup.
Those figs doused in syrup look gorgeous…and with cheese! Yum!
I bet queso fresco would be delicious with the figs. I love sweet and salty:)
Rosa – Thank you, it is a great combination!
Lucy – I haven’t mail ordered any of the ingredients, I’ve been lucky to find most of what I need in the latin grocery stores here, I would check the sites of makers of the products (like Goya to see if they ship any orders or maybe they can tell of stores local to you that sell their products), I also saw that there is a site that specializes in Ecuadorian food items (http://www.ecuadorianfooddelivery.com), but I have not purchased anything from them so I don’t know if their products are good. For aji, I just use the hot peppers I find locally (serranos are my favorite), but you could also try getting some aji seeds from Ecuador and growing a plant (even in a container if you don’t have a garden or so you can bring it inside during the winter) – that’s my plan for next year. Another idea is if you know of an Ecuadorian restaurant (or Peruvian or Colombian) and ask them where they buy their supplies. Good luck!
Paulj – The best figs I’ve found here are at Costco or ocassionally at the local farmers market – you can ask them to pick them for you before they’re too ripe, also while cooking the figs they did look very fragile but once they cook in the panela syrup for a while they get a little bit firmer. Yes, the panela has several names and shapes, occasionally I can find the square shaped one that looks more like the typical one from Ecuador. I’m guessing that the squash dessert your talking about is dulce de zapallo or sambo, it is also one of my favorites!
Amrita – Thank you for stopping by, the figs are just as good as they look (if not better).
Anticiplate – Queso fresco is so good with these, also one of my favorite queso frescos is a local one (well local from Oregon) called Froylan, it makes all the other queso frescos seem so boring, I also find it the latin grocery store.
I just came across your blog and immediately appreciated the photos so I quickly subscribed so I wouldn’t miss future posts — and now I’m going to leisurely look through your past posts.
Those pictures are truly amazing, especially the first one on top. I really enjoy learning about your homeland traditions, very nice.
–Marc
Love, love this. So beautiful. We’re not big dessert people too, so something simple like this always hits the spot at the end of a meal.
Wow! Looks like a real treat! Love the photos, too!
Paz
That looks wonderful. I love your photos. I like the Fig and Cheese combination, so beautiful and elegant yet simple. Thanks!
OMG! I wish I’d read this post 60 minutes ago. I had a box of figs I wanted to use and although I made a wonderful compote with other fruits, your photos and the recipe look scrumptious! I might be back at the store tomorrow for another box of figs!
A friend of mine gave me some fresh figs from her mother’s backyard and I tried this recipe. All I have to say is UMM UMM good!!! Even my 12 year old nephew loved it. Thank you.
I have been secretly stalking your website on and off for several months. I spent a semester in Cuenca with a host mother who was an amazing cook. I had all but forgotten about dulce de higos until I saw it on the kitchn.com. I have also been obsesssed with pan de yuca and will some day try to recreate both of these. Thanks also for having the directions, as my host mother was very vague with her instructions.
Thank you!
I’m in the market now with a flat of figs in my cart! Can’t wait to try these!
Thanks for posting this recipe. I had tried to make this before, without success.This time around everyone who tried the figs loved them. I did add a little vanilla and rum flavor, to experiment. It came out exquisite.
Thanks!
We recently rented the home we are living in and suddenly became blessed with an overabundance of figs. I had never canned before in my life. I have canned now 5 quarts and the figs keep on coming. Our new neighbor is from Equador and she took some green figs from the tree ( they are black mission type) and made what appears to be this recipe and they were amazing! Thank you for this recipe, I just hopes it works as well for me.
I had this the other day at an Ecuadorian restaurant. It was heaven on earth. Thank you so much for the recipe.