Pickled Plums

Pickled Damson Plums from Styrian home-grown fruit, sweet and sour

Essigzwetschken (pickled damson plums) from Fink's Delikatessen are sweet-and-sour pickled plums from Styria, marinated in damson vinegar from the Gölles manufactory. Not an industrial product, but home-grown fruit, preserved for game, snack platters, and cheese.

Essigzwetschken are sweet-and-sour pickled damson plums that Bettina Fink-Haberl has been preserving by hand in Walkersdorf near Ilz since 2002. Styrian home-grown damsons from local farmers are pitted, marinated in a base of Gölles damson vinegar, honey, and spices, and packed into jars – 220 grams, of which 120 grams is pure fruit. In Austria, they are written with a "k"; elsewhere, they are known as pickled damsons.

Sweet-and-sour, spicy, with fine mustard seeds

The plums glisten dark blue in the jar; their scent is tart and spicy with a warm note of honey.

When eating, the sweet-and-sour balance takes center stage – ripe damson meets the tangy damson vinegar from Gölles, along with honey, rock salt, and whole mustard and peppercorns. The fruit remains firm to the bite, the flat pit has long been removed, and there is a fine spiciness at the end that leaves you craving the next spoonful. Spicy, fruity, and with a nice bite.

The true damson, botanically a subspecies of the plum, is elongated and pointed, dark blue, and more tart than its round relatives. It is precisely this tartness that makes it the ideal fruit for pickling. By late summer, almost every Styrian garden has such a tree.

From roast game to a hearty snack platter

Pickled damsons are the classic accompaniment to everything savory from the forest and the kitchen.

Game virtually demands them – saddle of venison, duck, and goose – as does a cold-cut platter with spicy sausage, smoked ham, and a matured mountain cheese. 1 to 2 spoonfuls also elevate braised red cabbage, and these dark fruits even find their place in Japanese cuisine alongside rice and soy sauce. Thus, the jar finds its way from the Sunday roast to the evening cheese platter.

If you prefer it even tarter, rowan berries in syrup also pair well with game. Both can be found among the specialties from Fink's Delikatessen – small jars for large plates.

Bettina preserves what the garden gives in autumn

Behind the jar is a trained chef who knows her local fruit well.

Bettina Fink-Haberl and Hans Peter Fink run their manufactory in the Styrian Vulkanland region, in Walkersdorf near Ilz. The damsons ripen in the gardens of the surrounding area in late summer, are pitted and preserved by hand, and the vinegar comes from the neighboring Gölles manufactory in Riegersburg. For over 20 years, this has resulted in a jar that tastes of home. The honey rounds off the acidity, the rock salt carries the fruit – a recipe completely free of artificial additives.

Three things sustain every jar: good fruit, regional vinegar, and manual labor. You can find more of this in the entire assortment of Fink's Delikatessen.

Alongside saddle of venison and pumpkin purée

Stored in a cool place, the pickled damsons have a long shelf life; once opened, they belong in the refrigerator.

Serve them cool from the jar; 1 to 2 spoonfuls per plate are sufficient. With game, place a dollop next to the saddle of venison and pumpkin purée; for a snack, simply place the jar on the table. Those who like can use them to elevate red cabbage or, finely chopped, add them to an Asian sauce. It tastes hearty, it tastes sophisticated, it tastes of autumn.