At this time of year, I can normally be heard frantically saying, ‘what on earth am I going to do with all these courgettes?’

Not this year. The very dry spring has almost put paid to my courgette harvest but conversely, has paid dividends for my crop of figs.

What a year! I’ve never known a fig harvest like it, and I’m not alone. This is the first summer I have seen people flogging figs on stalls outside their houses at 50p a pop!

It seems I’m not the only not crying, ‘what shall I do with all these figs!’.

They’re clearly enjoying our more Mediterranean summer this year – aren’t we all.

The daily haul of figs has been mammoth. I have three fig trees and, on average, I’ve been taking around 20 off the trees each day and, let me tell you – these figs are ripe. Too ripe to steep in sugar syrup but perfect for baking, boiling and mushing (all very technical terms of course!).

As I write, the pantry shelves are groaning under the weight of 24 jars of fig and orange jam – and another four of fig and chilli jam.

But they haven’t just been consigned to jam. We’ve eaten them stuffed with lashings of blue cheese and wrapped in parma ham, baked and drizzled with honey off the farm. We’ve had them with yoghurt for breakfast. And, we’ve given them away by the bucket full! I hope my neighbours, work mates and fellow yogis are appreciating the fruits of this year’s harvest too.

When figs are this ripe, they are simply perfect for jam. The sticky, perfumed, preserved fruit will last well into winter and provide glorious flashbacks to the warmth of summer with every spoonful.

Figs pair particularly well with orange, with the sweetness of the fig softening the acidity of the orange.

I’ve tested this recipe across six different batches, and eaten it on sourdough, fruit cake and croissants – which it’s particularly married to – and every mouthful feels like a ray of sunshine.

Anyway, enough of my poetic ramblings, here is the recipe. Enjoy your fig harvest this year, it’s unlikely we’ll get two spectaclar seasons on the trot – but here’s hoping!

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Fig and orange jam

A batch of jam to remind you of summer all year long.

Course Breakfast

Keyword fig, Jam, orange

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg ripe figs
• 3 whole oranges
• 50 ml lemon juice
• 100 ml orange-flavoured alcohol such as Triple Sec - or Cointreau for more of a kick
• 800 g granulated sugar

Instructions

1. Plan ahead!

2. Top and tail the figs and remove the skins with a knife. Cut the figs in half and then into smaller chunks.

3. Zest all three oranges and add this to the figs.

4. Peel the oranges and cut out each segment so you have none of the membrane or pith. Chop the segments into small pieces and add to the figs.

5. Add the lemon juice, alcohol and sugar and let the ingredients get to know each other for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

6. When you're ready to make the jam, pour the mixture into a heavy-based pan and cook on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, stirring.

7. Boil steadily for about 20 minutes, in which time the mixture will have thickened. Test the setting point with the wrinkle test.

8. Pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal straight away.