Fig Preserves - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 qt. fresh figs with stems
1 Tbsp. soda
3 qt. boiling water
8 c. sugar
1 qt. water
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Preparation

Place figs in a large bowl; sprinkle with soda.
Add boiling (3 quarts) water and soak for 1 hour.
Drain figs, rinse in cold water.
Combine sugar and 1 quart water in large Dutch oven. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes.
Add figs and lemon to syrup. Cook until figs are clear and tender (about 1 hour), stirring occasionally.
Spoon figs into hot sterilized jars.
If necessary, keep cooking until thick.
Pour syrup over figs, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
Run knife around edge of jars to remove air bubble. Cover at once with metal lids and screw bands tight.
Process in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Yields 4 or 5 pints.