A portrait about the love for craftsmanship from the series 'Culinary Baden-Württemberg'
Good morning from Utzenfeld in the Black Forest. The fog still hangs between the fir trees, and in the Faller jam manufacture, the scent of autumn and harvest fills the air, of juicy plums and shiny blackberries. We are here today to explore a rare art: the transformation of ripe fruits into pure flavor, which is not produced but gently taken from nature. It is not about mass production, but about the quiet preservation of aromas and memories. It is not about sugar, fructose, and fruit concentrate in plastic bags, but about fruits from the tree, chopped and transformed into jam. J A M... It already sounds fine and precious, and that is exactly how it smells and tastes. Everything began in 1913 when the grocery trader Alfred Faller laid the foundation stone in nearby Schönau. He bought fresh berries and fruits from the farmers in the region and began making the first jams in his own laundry room, cooked in a copper kettle. The success was so 'sweet' that he soon set up his own cooking kitchen in his store, where he sold his creations not only to customers but also to local innkeepers, who delighted their breakfast guests with them. From this small initiative, a nationally known family business has emerged over the past 100 years, which has remained true to its philosophy. Even today, artisanal cooking based on traditional family recipes is at the center. Selected fruits and berries, mostly sourced from the region, are carefully hand-sorted before cooking. The real magic happens in small, gently stirred batches in the open copper kettle, a method that gives each jam its unique and unadulterated fruit flavor. Over thirty different varieties, from the Baden black cherry to the winter mulled wine jelly, are produced in the manufacture. They are refined only with apple pectin, crystal sugar, and a little lemon juice for the perfect balance. This promise of the highest quality and genuine enjoyment is carried by Faller out into the wide world, as the manufacture caters to the needs of hotels, restaurants, and delicatessens with a wide variety of packaging sizes. There is even an extensive range of diet products. Each individual creation, whether classic or specifically recipes, tastes homemade – a piece of sensual Black Forest from the copper kettle. Here, in the Faller manufacture, time has not stood still, but it has slowed down, paced by the seasons and the ripeness of the fruits. Like at grandma's, but modern. It is the handwork that sets the rhythm. Hands that sort berries, choosing only the best and ripest. It is a quiet exercise in mindfulness, where every fruit is appreciated. The heat envelops the mass, causing it to bubble and thicken until the aromas meld into a full, rounded picture, where the individual currant, the plum, the strawberry can still be tasted. That is precious. And it creates loyalty. Once tried, one stays. Everyone with 'their' own variety. Some rave about A for pineapple, others about sun-ripened raspberries, but also beer jelly or forest fruit, wild blueberries, or 60% plums. Not alcohol, but fruit. We also take our favorite varieties home: the Baden black cherry (the one with the traditional hat), wild blueberry, and extra quince jelly. What is perhaps most important is the promise that is cooked into every jar. The promise that nothing has to be beautified or enhanced here. The taste of a Faller jam is not loud or intrusive, but honest. And people, you can taste that. It is a piece of home. It is the taste of sun-ripened fruits that have been allowed to keep their own character, captured in a jar. It tastes of the love for detail that is in every step and of the deep conviction that true delicacies need time and dedication. You can taste the summer in it, the calm of autumn, the full power of nature that becomes a very personal moment of joy in a small gift on the breakfast bread. We regularly report on culinary specialties in the region, and Faller jam definitely belongs here. This is not advertising; we do not receive a cent for it. Not even jam. But we believe that our region has so much to offer, even culinarily. And this is indeed Baden-Württemberg in images.
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