Fruit Jelly Mix

Fruit jelly mix. Seven varieties, pectin instead of gelatin, not a gram of chocolate.

Fruit jelly mix is a sugared jelly confection from Berger Confiserie in Lofer in seven varieties, set with pectin and colored with plant extracts. No chocolate, no gelatin, no gummy candy, but a soft sugar confection in fruit shapes.

Fruit jelly at Berger Confiserie means a soft confection made of sugar, glucose syrup and pectin, which is cast into fruit shapes, acidified and rolled in crystal sugar. Every host knows the moment after the meal: Something sweet should still be on the table. Pralines are too heavy after three courses, a bar of chocolate seems arbitrary, and at least one guest is vegan. This confection exists precisely for this gap. It is light, tart, without cocoa and without gelatin, and it does not melt if the room is warm. One bowl is enough, and everyone reaches for the color they like.

Soft, tart and in seven colors

Fruit jelly from Berger tastes sweet at first, then bright and tart, and each of the seven varieties has its own tone. Mandarin, lemon and orange stand alongside strawberry and raspberry as well as yellow and green pear. The citrus varieties are sharp and fresh, the berries rounder, the two pears the mildest. The citric acid provides the tension that prevents the confection from simply being sweet. In the mouth, a piece gives gently, dissolves slowly and leaves the fine sugar rim on the lips.

The pieces are cast into fruit shapes, as little strawberries, orange slices and pears, and coated on the outside with coarse sugar. The colors are calm because they come from plants. The red comes from hibiscus, the yellow from safflower, the green from spinach and nettle, the orange from carrot and pumpkin. Neon colors do not exist here.

Anyone expecting a French pâte de fruit made of boiled fruit pulp will find this jelly too light. The aroma comes from added flavorings, not from fruit puree, and therefore it tastes clearer and simpler than a jelly made from whole fruit. It is a sugar confection with around 73 grams of sugar per 100 grams, not intended for people who only eat sweets in moderation.

In the bowl after the meal, in the tea tin, on the cheese platter

The jelly needs no temperature and no preparation. It comes directly from the package into a wide bowl, preferably mixed by colors. Serve it after coffee instead of a dessert, two to three pieces per person, no one needs more. With a black tea or an herbal tea, the acidity suits better than any chocolate, because it does not coat the tea. On a cheese platter, a piece of pear jelly replaces the fig jam sauce: Place it next to a matured mountain cheese or a blue cheese, and salt and acidity meet. In a tea tin or a glass with a lid, the confection stays dry and remains separate. In an open bowl, it sticks together after a few days.

Good to know: The jelly is not suitable for baking or boiling down. When heated, the pectin network melts, and what remains is a sticky syrup without shape. Anyone who prefers chocolate after the meal will find in the dark 70 percent dark chocolate a counterpart that complements the acidity of the jelly.

Pectin only sets if the sugar and acidity are right

Fruit jelly is a classic of the confiserie, older than the praline. Berger Confiserie offers it in the range of iced and specialties, alongside orange drops and chocolate-covered nuts. The house in Lofer started with pralines in 1994 and built up over a hundred employees, but the sugar kitchen belongs to the craft. Anyone who knows Berger Chocolate will find here a house confection that does without cocoa entirely.

Pectin is a fiber from the cell wall of apples and citrus peels, the same one that makes jam firm. Unlike gelatin, it forms its network only under two conditions. The sugar content must be high, around two-thirds of the mass, and the acidity must be right. That is why the citric acid comes at the very end into the hot mass, just before pouring. Added too early, the jelly would solidify in the pot, too late it would remain soft. The glucose syrup prevents the sugar from forming crystals again when cooling and the confection from becoming sandy.

After pouring, the jelly rests until the network is set, then the shapes are released and rolled in crystal sugar. The sugar coating is not decoration, but technique: It draws the residual moisture on the surface and prevents the pieces from sticking together. Pectin jelly remains softer and melts faster than gelatin jelly, because the fibers form a looser network. Exactly that explains why a piece does not chew in the mouth, but disappears.

The confection for guests who do not eat chocolate

Most confiserie gifts consist of chocolate; this one is vegan, without gelatin and without cocoa, and excludes no one at the table. It does not melt, it does not crumble, and it remains attractive in the bowl until the last piece is gone. Anyone who sets the table for guests with different habits has with this a sweet that works without asking.

As a gift, the 100-gram package is suitable for people who like sweets tart, and for tea drinkers. Likewise for everyone who has chocolate at home, but never anything fruity. On a coffee table, the colorful pieces bring color between cake and cups. In a selection next to the thin milk chocolate cat tongues, the chocolate classic stands opposite a fruity counterpart, and both come from the same house in the Saalachtal.

Place a bowl of it on the table after the meal, and you will see that the pieces disappear faster than any praline.