Gruber's Damson Plum Jam. Jam from the old-fashioned damson plum – dark, spicy-fruity, and handmade.
Gruber's Damson Plum Jam is a handmade jam from Reigersberg near Ilz in Eastern Styria, cooked from the pulp of the house damson, a traditional plum variety. 190 g in a jar, with sugar, pectin, and malic acid. Without added flavorings and without preservatives or colorings.
Damson Plum Jam from Gruber's carries an Austrian word in its name: "Zwetschke" is the local spelling for what is known as "Zwetschge" in Germany. The house damson is the old, traditional variety found in many gardens and along many farm edges. It is elongated, dark blue, ripens late in the year, and has firm, rather dry flesh. That is precisely why bakers have valued it for generations, and exactly why it is so well-suited for jam. For Fruchtzauberei, the matter is clear. The producer writes that for them, the traditional damson remains the plum with the most flavor. Compared to the bright summer varieties from Reigersberg, this jam is the autumn variety on the shelf: dark, robust, and a favorite of ours for years.
Dark fruit, mild acidity, a hint of autumn
The jam tastes of ripe, dark plum, fruity and deep. Added to this are a mild acidity and a sweetness reminiscent of fruit puree and cake. Unlike berry varieties, it is less tart. It feels rounder, almost spicy, even though the jar contains nothing but the fruit, sugar, pectin, and malic acid.
Because it is made from the fruit pulp, the texture is smooth and dense. It spreads well and stays where you put it when baking. On bread, a thin layer is sufficient, as the plum flavor is bold enough.
Compared to Powidl, the Austrian plum butter that is cooked down for hours without gelling agents, this jam is lighter, fresher, and fruitier. Those expecting deep, almost caramel-like Powidl will find this jam lighter. For breakfast and quick pastries, that is precisely an advantage.
Buchteln, Palatschinken, cheese: the plum in pastry baking
In Austria, the plum belongs in the kitchen of pastries just like powdered sugar. For Buchteln, place a teaspoon of jam into every ball of yeasted dough. Then pinch the dough shut and place the Buchteln tightly packed in the baking dish. Serve with vanilla sauce after baking, just as many know it from childhood.
Palatschinken, the thin Austrian crepes, are spread thinly with jam, rolled up, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. A spoonful on the edge of the plate goes well with poppy seed noodles or curd cheese dumplings. Those who make Germknödel (yeast dumplings) themselves can fill them with this jam instead of Powidl. The result tastes fruitier and fresher; poppy seeds, melted butter, and powdered sugar go well with it.
For breakfast, it tastes great on buttered bread, on a "Kornspitz" roll, or on curd cheese with a little cinnamon. A spoonful in porridge turns oatmeal into an autumn breakfast on cold days. It also goes well with an evening snack. As a sweet counterpart to robust mountain cheese, Brie, or matured sliced cheese, it works much like a chutney.
In savory cooking, stir a teaspoon into the sauce for game or roast pork. The plum adds fruitiness and slight thickening. For Christmas, use it to fill cookies or spread it on a gingerbread base before adding the glaze. And for a quick dessert in a glass, layer the jam, curd cream, and crumbled speculoos cookies. An hour in the fridge is all it takes.
Our tip: Warm up two tablespoons of jam with a pinch of cinnamon and a splash of water. Drizzled over Kaiserschmarrn, this replaces the traditional stewed plums when you're in a hurry on a Sunday.
An old variety, processed in Reigersberg
Fruchtzauberei is a small family business in Reigersberg near Ilz, in the fruit-growing region of Eastern Styria. The farm's roots go back to 1860. In the early 1990s, it converted to fruit growing, with a focus on apples. René Gruber is a master fruit grower and handles the cultivation, while Beatrix is a chef who processes the fruit at Fruchtzauberei.
The damson plum fits this operation well. It is a variety that is part of Austrian tradition and is cooked down in many farm kitchens in autumn. It requires a bit of patience, as it only ripens in late summer and autumn, when most other fruits have long since been processed. Beatrix processes it into pulp and cooks it into jam with sugar and pectin. It is made by hand, according to recipes developed through collective tasting and experimentation.
"Quality over quantity" is the principle Beatrix and René live by. The jam is available at the farm, through selected retailers, and from us. The 190 g jar is slightly smaller than most other Fruchtzauberei jams, making it well-suited for a breakfast table for two. Those who bake a lot are best off stocking up on two jars at once, as a tray of Buchteln can easily use half a jar.
For pastry fans and cheese lovers
This jam is for anyone who loves plums and wants them on the table year-round. It suits people who enjoy baking, especially with yeast dough, and anyone looking for something fruity for their cheese board. As a gift, it is perfect for friends who think of their grandmother's pastries whenever they hear the word "Zwetschke."
Incidentally, the hot & painful barbecue sauce, the spicy side of the damson plum, is based on the same fruit pulp. For the summer, there is apricot jam. The rest of the assortment can be found on the Gruber's Fruchtzauberei page.
It is not suitable as a low-sugar spread. It is a classic jam, cooked with sugar, for bread, Buchteln, and cheese.
A jam made from the old-fashioned damson plum – for Buchteln, Palatschinken, and mountain cheese in the evening.
