Gems to Pick

Gathering wild blueberries is a rewarding experience. It is even more so if, since childhood, you have lived surrounded by the embrace of the forest and the heights of peaks and summits.

Today, Stefan Gruber finds the same fragrant green silence and that fraternal calm of those who sought the spontaneity of the fruits in the Braies Valley with a basket under their arm. He knows that living according to nature is a privilege. Fascinated by the growth process of mountain berries and what happens underground in the bustling of organic substances, he quickly understood that around that inherited farmhouse, nestled in a valley in South Tyrol, he would continue to build his story. He dedicated the early ‚90s to perfecting recipes that respected the quality of the raw materials he cultivated in the fields near his home. Once he found the combination of ingredients that made juices, jams, fruit preserves, and mustards special, he applied himself to make them as beautiful as they were delicious. And since goodness and beauty combine in genuineness, a few years later he met Karoline with the same alchemy. Today, parents of four children, they live the natural cycle of growth as a value to infuse into their work.

They cultivate one and a half hectares of land rich in humus and stones that retain heat, creating a balanced soil climate. This, in summer, brings raspberries, red and black currants, gooseberries, and rhubarb rich in taste and vitamins. The king of spontaneous fruits is the wild bilberry, cultivated in measured quantities here in Alpe Pragas. To grow, it requires expanses of forests and a lot of care, so to ensure quality and continuous production, they also import it fresh from Scandinavia. Part of the company’s vigorous growth is also in finding territories that offer distinctive flavors, such as the apricot from Val Venosta. Thanks to the fleshiness of the velvety fruit and the meticulous hand-processing done at the company, “from mid-July to late August, we dedicate ourselves almost exclusively to this fruit, which is the second flagship product of Alpe Pragas after the bilberry,” they say. With this product, along with over 100 specialties, they are present in 15 European countries.

In the two thousand square meters of the headquarters, built between glass and Dolomite stone, there is a real work of sanitation and a precious emporium of local tradition. The first steps of the production chain are strictly done by hand, and it is Stefan and Karoline themselves who are present at every phase of the production cycle.

The raw material arrives whole - a part is frozen and stored in the underground cells to spread the production throughout the year - it is selected, pitted, cleaned, and washed. All operations are performed manually; this last one is one of the most delicate phases of the cycle, where hands and heart must move in unison. The transfer of the raw material into the containers is the alchemical moment that refers to the original recipe: fruit, sugar, fresh lemon juice, and apple pectin, which is dried apple peel made into powder used for thickening. The Original line has 25% sugar to 75% fruit; the Bio Organic is sweetened with 35% agave syrup, and the No Added Sugar is particularly appreciated by diabetics or those on a diet, but not only them. The cooking in the no-sugar line is longer to remove all the water from the fruit, and the combination of two types of fruit together - cherry with strawberry, apricot with peach, blueberry with pear - keeps the taste pleasant. After vacuum cooking at a low temperature, “another important moment that determines the color of the finished product,” the preserves or jam is jarred and then pasteurized at 80 degrees, then dried and cooled. Once brought to the right temperature, they are labeled, “from the empty jar to the jar packed in boxes, it is an automated process achieved over the years and always monitored by us or our collaborators.”

Much time and research are dedicated to numerous experiments to find a mix of flavors that always surprises the palate. The fruitarium is in constant evolution. The first tasters are strictly Stefan and Karoline, followed by a discussion with the entire team. The Gruber juniors also get a share of the vote, as the small club of official tasters is growing in nutritional excellence.