Konfitüre Extra and Marmalade by Alain Milliat
Alain Milliat’s Konfitüre Extra is a fruit spread with a high fruit content made from fully ripened fruit, cooked down in France according to the same standards Alain applies to his juices. Six varieties, from apricot to fig, are available alongside an orange marmalade. Plenty of fruit, little sugar at the forefront – the orchard brought to your bread.
Konfitüre Extra is the premium class of fruit spreads: it is cooked from more fruit than standard jam, with at least 45 g of fruit per 100 g. Alain Milliat has applied his philosophy of juice to bread spreads: fully ripened fruit, gently cooked, using produce from across France and Italy. You can find six fruit spreads and one orange marmalade with us, in handy 230 g jars.
What makes Konfitüre Extra special
The word "Extra" is not a marketing term, but a regulatory standard.
A Konfitüre Extra is made from more fruit and contains no fillers made from inferior fruit pulp – per 100 g, there is at least 45 g of fruit, often more. You can taste it: the fruit is in the foreground, and the sugar takes a back seat. In Alain’s case, the fruits are harvested when fully ripe, because the true flavor is developed on the tree.
This keeps the essence of summer in the jar: whole pieces of fruit, dark color, clear aroma. The Konfitüre Extra hits your bread fruity, flavorful, and full-bodied; apricot tastes like apricot, fig like fig.
You can see it as soon as you open the jar: not a smooth, gelatinous mass, but recognizable pieces and a rich, deep color. And you can smell it before you taste it—the scent of ripe fruit and a little bit of summer cooking. A Konfitüre Extra delivers on the promise made on its label.
Gently cooked means: only for as long as necessary so that color and freshness are preserved. Where long cooking times make fruit dull and dark, it stays vibrant and alive here. It is precisely this difference that turns a sweet spread into a Konfitüre Extra that tastes like fruit rather than sugar frosting.
The subtle difference between jam and marmalade
Marmalade and jam (Konfitüre) are not the same thing, even if we often mix them up.
In the EU, only citrus-based spreads are allowed to be called "marmalade"; everything else, from strawberries to figs, is "Konfitüre." That is why Alain’s Orange Blonde made from blonde oranges is logically called marmalade, while the strawberry version is a Konfitüre Extra.
A small difference on the label, a noticeable one at the breakfast table. Now you know why it is called marmalade for oranges and not for raspberries.
In everyday life, we use both words interchangeably, and that is not a problem. It is just nice to know the background: what you call "marmalade" in English specifically means this citrus spread, while the German "Erdbeer-Marmelade" from grandma's kitchen is technically a Konfitüre. Language, after all, is also a part of culinary culture.
Six fruit spreads and one orange marmalade
The varieties read like a basket of freshly picked fruit.
It starts off dark and sunny with the Bergeron Apricot, continues with the finely tart raspberry and the forest-like blueberry. Things get sophisticated with the purple fig, which tastes of late summer.
Add the fruity strawberry and the tart, fruity orange marmalade – six fruit spreads and one citrus spread, each variety cooked from its own fruit. This is how you fill a breakfast basket, from sweet to tart.
In the handy 230 g jar, each variety is used up quickly and therefore remains fresh until the last spoonful. If you like, you can switch things up throughout the week: apricot on Monday, fig on Wednesday, strawberry on the weekend. That way, the breakfast table never gets boring.
Such a jar also makes for a lovely little gift, whether alone, as a pair, or as a trio in a box. A Konfitüre Extra is a sincere gesture that everyone understands and no one will leave behind. And because the varieties taste so different, you can tailor them to the recipient—a fig for the cheese lover, a strawberry for Sunday breakfast.
From dark apricot to purple fig
Each variety brings its own mood to the table.
The Bergeron Apricot is an old French variety with dark, aromatic flesh and is one of the favorites at the breakfast table. The strawberry tastes earthy and sweet like a summer meadow, the raspberry finely tart, and the blueberry woody and deep.
And then the fig, purple and sophisticated, which feels almost like a dessert with its seedy pulp. Alain emphasizes that the jars reflect exactly what is ripening outside on the bush—nothing else should go in.
Finally, the Orange Blonde brings a tart, fruity note to the table, in a way only citrus fruits can, with fine pieces of peel and a hint of bitterness. If you prefer things bold in the morning, this is the right choice. Thus, the range of jars extends from gently sweet to tart-fresh, offering something for every taste at the breakfast table.
A manufactory that takes fruit seriously
The same standards behind the juices apply to the jars.
Alain Milliat was a fruit farmer in Orliénas near Lyon before founding his manufactory in 1997 and bottling his first six juices. He treats fruit the way a winemaker treats his vines, and that is exactly what he has been applying to his spreads for over 25 years.
The fruits come from various regions in France and Italy; they are cooked down in France according to the same standards as the juice. He added his own approach to the old tradition of preserving: more fruit, less haste. Today, the brand is at home in over 20 countries. The full story is told in the manufacturer profile of Alain Milliat. We carry these fruit spreads because the fruit speaks here, not the sugar. Well done.
Fig with aged cheese
A good fruit spread can do more than just go on breakfast toast.
Apricot or strawberry belongs on a croissant or fresh baguette anyway, and in the morning with a good coffee, it makes the day a little better. The purple fig becomes exciting on a cheese board, paired with aged hard cheese and a glass of red wine. The tart orange marmalade, in turn, tastes great to us on dark bread with butter.
And in the kitchen, such a spread is even more versatile: as a filling in shortcrust pastry, as a glaze for a roast, or as a fruity dollop in plain yogurt. You can find more for your set breakfast table right next door. Try all six fruit spreads and the orange marmalade and put together your own breakfast basket. And then make your breakfast beautiful—a little different every morning.
