Blackthorn jelly spread

Sloe Jelly Spread. Tart wild fruit as a clear jelly, for bread, roasts and cheese.

Sloe Jelly Spread by FrüchteMeer is a clear jelly made from 49% sloe juice, set with sugar and pectin. No fruit pieces, no skin and no mild sweetness like a children's jam.

Sloe Jelly Spread is a jelly from the FrüchteMeer jam manufactory that makes the juice of the wild sloe spreadable. Many people know the fruit only from a drink: in England, sloes have been used to make Sloe Gin for generations. In the glass from Wankendorf, it reveals itself without alcohol, but with its full tart character. Almost half of the recipe is sloe juice, which also appears before sugar in the list of ingredients. The jelly is deep dark red, almost purple. On the label, the manufacturer uses two words to describe it: tart and aromatic.

Dark fruit with a dry, slightly furry finish

The Sloe Jelly Spread tastes sweet at first, then fruitily tart with dark stone fruits and a dry finish. Botanically, the sloe is a close relative of the plum. Accordingly, its aroma is reminiscent of Zwetschge, only much firmer.

The dry sensation on the palate comes from the fruit's tannins. Experts refer to this as astringency, like in a young red wine or black tea. In the jelly, this tartness is tamed by the sugar but remains noticeable. The consistency is smooth, glossy and uniform, because a jelly is made from juice rather than fruit pulp.

Those who like to feel fruit pieces in their bread will find the jelly too smooth. For children who prefer an consistently sweet spread, this variety is less suitable. With 52 g of sugar per 100 g, it is also not a product for a low-sugar diet.

Glaze for lamb, vinaigrette and blue cheese

The manufacturer expressly recommends the jelly for roasts and cheese, and that is where it shows its strength. To make a glaze for rack of lamb, heat two tablespoons with a sprig of rosemary. Brush it onto the meat in the final minutes. The tartness of the sloe complements the robust lamb aroma.

For a vinaigrette, mix one teaspoon of jelly with one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and three tablespoons of walnut oil. It tastes great with lamb's lettuce with sliced pears and roasted walnuts. On the cheese platter, the jelly accompanies a creamy blue cheese or a matured sheep's cheese. It also offers a fruity, tart complement to thinly sliced cold roast beef. For breakfast, it goes well on dark bread with butter. Those looking for a lighter counterpart should try the elderflower jelly spread.

Our tip: Stir one tablespoon of jelly into the cream sauce of a game stew just before serving. The sauce gets a shine, a dark color and a fine acidity. However, the variety is not ideal as a filling for light sponge rolls, because its tartness dominates delicate doughs.

Why sloes are usually turned into juice and jelly

The sloe grows on the blackthorn, a thorny wild bush that grows in hedges and at the edges of forests. Its fruits are small, covered in blue bloom, and carry a relatively large stone. Destoning them by hand would be tedious, and the fruit pulp is scarce anyway. That is why the sloe is traditionally processed into juice, liqueur or jelly in the kitchen. For Sloe Gin, the fruits are steeped with sugar in gin and left to macerate for months. The jelly, on the other hand, uses only the juice and contains no alcohol at all.

It is harvested in late autumn, and many foragers wait until after the first nights of frost. The raw fruit makes the mouth pucker severely; only processing makes it palatable. In the jelly, a pleasant, tart core of this wildness remains.

The jelly is cooked down at FrüchteMeer in Wankendorf. Susanne Lucht-Thiesen founded the manufactory in 1996, and since then she has run the business together with Karsten Thiesen. According to her own statement, the team works in a craft manner and is open to new flavor ideas. According to a trading partner, the range includes over 130 varieties. In the manufacturer's shop, the sloe jelly is listed among the most popular fruit spreads, a wild fruit among many classics.

A jelly for everyone who likes tart flavors

What makes this jelly special is its origin from a wild fruit that is rarely found on supermarket shelves. It does not taste like a compromise, but like hedgerows and autumn. Those who appreciate grapefruit, dark chocolate or dry red wine will find a suitable spread here. Compared to blackcurrant jelly, it tastes less sour and significantly more tannic.

The 210-g jar is suitable as a gift for amateur cooks who prepare game or lamb. Alongside cheese and nuts, the almost black jelly will quickly become a talking point at the table. Those who want to give away two autumn varieties should combine it with the mild pear-quince fruit spread.

A tart wild jelly that gives lamb, the cheese platter and dark breakfast bread what sweet jams cannot provide.