Blackberry Fruit Spread by Alpe Pragas, dark and deep
Blackberry Fruit Spread by Alpe Pragas is a South Tyrolean spread made from fully ripe blackberries, whose inky depth is visible even in the jar. The small seeds remain because they belong to the blackberry just as much as its sweetness and tart edge.
Blackberry Fruit Spread is the darkest of the berry spreads from Alpe Pragas in the Prags Valley, South Tyrol. With 75 percent fruit, the blackberry clearly takes center stage; it is thickened solely with apple pectin, and a splash of lemon juice keeps the color fresh.
Almost black, sweet with a tart edge
Upon opening, the scent of fully ripe blackberries rises, just like it does by a sunny hedgerow in late summer.
On light-colored bread, the spread glows deep violet, and the first bite is sweet before the tart edge follows, which only fully ripe fruit provides. You barely notice the lemon juice; it keeps the fruit profile clear and prevents the sweetness from becoming cloying. Between the soft pieces are the seeds, which provide a quiet crunch while eating and give the spoonful structure.
Many small drupelets on a core
What looks like a single fruit is actually a cluster of many tiny drupelets.
Each of the shiny little spheres carries its own small seed, and those are exactly what you find in the spread. Alpe Pragas does not strain them out because doing so would mean losing the fruit flesh that gives the blackberry its depth. Therefore, the seeds are not a remnant that someone overlooked; they are the fruit’s design.
Late in the year, when the hedges are bearing fruit
The blackberry is the last fruit of the summer, ripening long after raspberries and currants have been harvested.
Only then does it lose the sharp acidity of the half-ripe fruit and develop that dark sweetness that defines the spread. Harvesting happens among thorns, which is why, to this day, no machine can replace the human hand, and each fruit is picked individually from the bush. Alpe Pragas cooks them briefly in the Prags Valley so that the color and fragrance remain in the fruit rather than in the kettle.
With goat cheese and in dark sauces
Among the berries, the blackberry is the tartest and therefore works well in savory applications too.
Placed alongside a fresh goat cheese, its dark sweetness plays against the salt, and a spoonful in a pan sauce gives game and duck that fruity depth usually sought in wine. On a cheese board, it stands between a mild cream cheese and an aged hard cheese, holding its own against both.
In the morning, a slice of farmhouse bread with cold butter and a generous dollop of the fruit is enough. Drizzled over a warm pancake, it leaves dark streaks across the plate, and on a piece of chocolate cake, two dark elements combine to make a dessert. Those who enjoy red wine with their cheese will find the perfect counterpart on the board in this fruit.
A supply for the dark time of year
When unopened, the jar keeps well beyond winter if stored in a cool, dark place.
After opening, the jar should be refrigerated, and the spoon should remain clean. Stirred into quark, a spoonful colors the entire bowl violet; over vanilla ice cream, it serves as a sauce. Other preserved fruits from our house can be found in our jams and marmalades, and the entire Alpe Pragas range in the Prags Valley manufacture section.
