Chocolate Stout Fig Spread
This chocolate vegan fig spread lives in a world between jam and Nutella, and leaves you savoring every sweet, sticky, bitter bite. The initial chocolate flavor melts into a rich and sticky fig jam that then gives way to the sweet, dark, smoky and bitter flavors of your stout. Perfect for topping crackers and toasts, filling cakes, and more. This spread is for those who appreciate dark chocolate, more than it is for the milk chocolate fans.
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Are Figs Vegan?
If you’re reading this, you might be thinking, “Of course figs are vegan, they’re fruit! Why are we even talking about this?”. Unless you’ve spent a decent amount of time in vegan internet forums, then you probably know what I’m talking about. There is a common narrative out there that figs are not vegan, because in order to pollinate the crop a wasp has to die and its body is trapped in each fig. It is claimed that the crunchy bits in the middle of the fig are that wasp. Well, if you’ve heard that, let me start by saying the crunchy bits in the middle of a fig are seeds not wasp bits. And while this narrative isn’t true, it’s doesn’t come from nowhere either.
Lots of crops are pollinated by insects. Crops like almonds, squash and apples are pollinated by honeybees. Cashews and papaya are pollinated by moths. Macadamia nuts are pollinated by beetles. And some varieties of figs are pollinated by wasps. Let me mention that most of the varieties sold in the United States (like the black mission figs I used here) have been bred to ripen without pollination, so they do not rely on wasps. The types of figs that do rely on wasps to ripen exist in a mutually beneficial relationship with wasps, but it does involve wasp death. Female wasps carry pollen on their wings and enter immature figs. When they enter a male fig, they lay their eggs inside. When they enter a female fig, they pollinate the flower and become trapped, dying. After female wasps die and the growing figs produce a chemical that breaks down the insect’s body, so you won’t find it in your food. Figs than act as a safe nursery for the growing wasps. Once the male wasps are born, they start digging their way through the fig to make a channel for the female wasps to exit. The female wasps are born after the male ones, and after they exit the fig they were born in the cycle continues. The wasps pollinate the figs, the figs nurture the baby wasps.
Unlike in many fruit crops, where farmers transport beehives from field to field, contributing to colony collapse and bee death, the relationship between figs and wasps happens without human intervention. Of course, you have to decide for yourself what foods are or aren’t vegan, but from my perspective figs are a perfectly wasp-friendly vegan food.
Cooking with Beer? Try one of these recipes!
- Rye Pretzel Recipe with Vegan Beer Cheese
- Instant Pot Black Borracho Beans with Potatoes
- Vegan Fondue with Caramelized Onions and Ale
- Stout, Pecan and Ginger Bread (Vegan)
- Lion’s Mane Vegetarian Fish and Chips
Searching for Sweet Spreads? Try one of these!
- Sunrise Vegan Rhubarb Curd
- Homemade Vegan Nutella Recipe
- Rosehip Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce
- Two Crabapple Recipes: Crabapple Jelly and Butter
- Creamy Vegan Black Raspberry Curd
- Easy Kumquat Marmalade Recipe with Ginger
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Craving Cocoa? Try one of these Chocolate Recipes!
- Vegan Chocolate Brownie Tart with Raspberries
- Chocolate Cognac Fresh Fig Cake
- Dark Chocolate Vegan Peanut Butter Fudge
- Thanks USPS! Spicy Chocolate Cookies
- Gluten-Free Vegan Bars with Teff and Chocolate
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- Vegan Kumquat Cake with Chocolate Ganache
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How to Make Stout and Chocolate Fig Spread
The basic idea behind this recipe is to first reduce your beer, and then blend your spread. I used Guiness for this spread, in honor of the rapidly approaching Saint Patrick’s Day, but use any stout you like. You’re going to reduce a 16 oz. (or so) beer by about half, so that you have one cup of beer remaining. This will lower the alcohol content and also reduce the amount of liquid so our spread is thick and not watery. Once the stout has been reduced, remove it from the heat and throw in the chocolate and figs. The heat from the beer will melt the chocolate, and the figs will rehydrate a little and become easier to blend. After that you can throw it all in a blender with the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth and thick. I used a smoked cardamom in this fig spread to add just that additional flavor element- you can get that here, or if you’d rather not, just use cardamom that hasn’t been smoked. Store your finished spread in an airtight jar in the fridge.
Chocolate, Stout, and Fig Spread Tasting Notes:
This spread has a lot of flavors weaving in and out, giving way to each other, and interacting. I’m hit in the first bite with a deep chocolate flavor. It’s sweet, dark, and a little bitter. The fig comes in next- sticky, fruity, sweeter, and brighter. Most of the texture comes from the ground figs, not only the stickiness but a little bit of crunch from the seeds. There are caramel notes, and hints of vanilla. You really start to taste the stout more at the end of your bite, when the bitter, malty, and coffee-like notes come forward. There is a hint of smokiness too, from the smoked cardamom, that really melds well with the stout.
Chocolate Stout Fig Spread
Ingredients
- 14-16 oz. stout
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
- 6 oz. dried figs
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. smoked cardamom
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Pour your stout into a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on it, or it will overflow. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by about half, leaving you with one cup of beer. Take off the heat, and add the chocolate chips and figs. Let sit for 10 minutes, allowing the chocolate to melt.
- Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender, and add the vanilla, cardamom, and salt. Blend until smooth, so the beer, chocolate, and figs are evenly incorporated. Transfer to a clean jar, and store in the fridge.
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