A fig preserve from La Sablésienne, the family biscuiterie founded in 1962 at Sablé-sur-Sarthe in the Pays de la Loire, made without preservatives, colourings or artificial flavourings.
The most useful jam in the cupboard
Fig jam is the one preserve that is arguably more valuable on the savoury side of the table than the sweet one, and it is the reason to keep a jar even if you do not eat much jam.
Figs are dense, low in acid and full of tiny seeds, so a fig preserve is thick, mellow and slightly grainy rather than bright and sharp. That mellowness is exactly what makes it work against salt and fat: it does not fight cheese or cured meat the way a sharp berry jam does, it settles underneath them.
Where it earns its place
On a cheeseboard — with blue cheese above all, where the sweetness and the salt are a classic pairing; also with mature sheep's cheese, with a washed-rind cheese, and with fresh goat's cheese.
With cured meat — presunto, prosciutto, jamón. A little fig with ham and a piece of bread is a complete thing.
In cooking — spread thinly over a pork loin or duck breast in the last minutes of roasting; stirred into the pan juices with a splash of vinegar; spread on the base of a tart before onions and goat's cheese go on; melted into a red wine sauce.
And sweetly — on bread and butter, on brioche, folded into yoghurt, or with almonds in a tart.
Storage
Cupboard until opened, then refrigerate, and use within about a month. Always use a clean, dry spoon — crumbs and butter in the jar are what cause mould, not age.