Mirabelle Fruit Spread

Mirabelle fruit spread. Honey-sweet stone fruit, subtle acidity, 80 percent fruit.

The Mirabelle fruit spread from the Königskind kitchen is a bread spread cooked by hand in Wiehl, with its jar consisting of 80 percent mirabelles. No plum jam, no tart berry spread, no clear jelly.

Mirabelle fruit spread is a fruit spread from the Königskind artisanal food manufactory in the Oberbergisches Land, which brings the little yellow plum relative almost pure into the jar. Mirabelles are often considered the well-behaved sister of the Zwetschge. As soon as you open the lid, this reputation is gone. A rich, honey-like aroma rises, which is more reminiscent of apricot than plum. The color is a warm golden yellow, the mass soft and easy to spread.

Round and honey-like instead of tangy

Mirabelles contain less fruit acid than Zwetschgen or apricots, which is why this spread tastes round, mild, and almost floral. The sweetness is reminiscent of light honey. A splash of lemon juice draws a fine counterline, so that the taste does not become flat.

Because the fruit clearly predominates in quantity, the sugar remains in the background. It carries the aroma instead of covering it. Pectin, the natural gelling agent from the cell walls of fruits, gives the spread just enough hold so that it stays on the knife.

Anyone looking for a distinct acidity in the morning, like with blackcurrant or sour cherry, will find the Mirabelle too mild. For this taste, the fruit spread with cherry and grapefruit is the more suitable choice.

With Kaiserschmarrn, rye bread, and Münster cheese

The Mirabelle fruit spread works best where its mild sweetness meets something salty, buttery, or spicy. On hearty rye bread with salted butter, the fruit immediately tastes livelier than on a sweet yeast roll.

With Kaiserschmarrn, it replaces the Zwetschgenröster. Heat two tablespoons with a splash of water in a small pot and serve the sauce lukewarm with it. In natural yogurt with roasted almond flakes, this creates a dessert in two minutes. A teaspoon in a vinaigrette of walnut oil and light vinegar rounds off a lamb's lettuce salad with fresh goat cheese. On the cheese platter, it suits a ripe Münster from the Vosges. Mirabelle and Münster both come from northeastern France, so the pairing is also geographically harmonious.

Good to know: Like most fruit spreads, this one is also not oven-proof. For a yeast braid or sheet cake that stays in the oven for a long time, it is less suitable because it becomes liquid and runs out. Better spread it thinly on a still warm shortcrust pastry base after baking and place fresh fruit on it.

Why mirabelles usually end up in a jar

Mirabelles ripen for only a few weeks in late summer and can hardly withstand transport, which is why canning is the classic way to save them over the year. Botanically, they are a subspecies of the cultivated plum, Prunus domestica subsp. syriaca. The best-known growing area is in Lorraine, where varieties such as Mirabelle de Nancy and Mirabelle de Metz call home.

This spread is cooked in Wiehl, between Gummersbach and Nümbrecht. Uwe König stood there at the stove from 2005 initially out of love. Since 2014, he has run the manufactory as his own business, together with his wife Sabine. The batches remain small, there are no added aromas, colorings, or preservatives.

A detail about the designation: "Jam" is reserved for citrus fruits in European food law. For preserves, strict requirements apply to fruit and sugar content. "Fruit spread" on the other hand is not a protected term, which is why it is always worth looking at the ingredients list. Here, the Mirabelle stands unchallenged in first place with 80 percent.

Single-variety, without seasoning and without liqueur

The Mirabelle fruit spread does without everything that could overpower the fruit, so no vanilla, spices, or alcohol. This distinguishes it within the Königskind range from varieties such as the beschwipste Pflaume, which is cooked with plum liqueur. Anyone who wants to know how a Mirabelle actually tastes will find the unadulterated answer here.

The jar with 125 grams is deliberately kept small. For an extended breakfast for two, it is quite enough, not for a whole cake. As a gift to bring to a brunch or together with a piece of Münster for hosts with a sense for cheese, it looks bigger than it is.

A jar for everyone who thinks of Lorraine in August when they think of Mirabelles and would like to have this taste on their bread on a gray February morning too.