Christine Ferber & European Jams

Who is Christine Ferber?

Connoisseurs worldwide prize the exquisite jams of Christine Ferber, who is called the “queen of confitures”* by strangers and “the jam fairy” by her friends. She is a master patissière but who is mostly recognised for her quality confitures – she is France’s revered jam maker. Her jams are renowned for their artisanal quality, using fresh, local, and seasonal fruits in small batches, and using traditional methods. They are known for the high fruit content (minimum 68g per 100g) and the meticulous attention to detail, including daily harvesting and cooking in batches of no more than four kilograms. This approach ensures superior flavor, texture, and overall quality.

One of the reasons that Ferber is so highly respected by her culinary peers is that she employs locals and sources local produce – she is from Niedermorschwihr and is a fourth generation pastry chef who took over the family business from her father. Of course the fruit she uses for her confitures is seasonal and she makes it in small batches in her small commercial kitchen behind the shop. It is cooked in a relatively small copper cauldron and distributed into jars by hand so that the any solid fruit is evenly distributed in the jars. By making small batches of jam she is in better control of adding the correct amount of sugar – as we all know not all batches of the same type of fruit are the same – they vary in quantity and quality of ripeness, juice, sweetness and pectin. Ferber usually uses apples to add pectin to fruit lacking in pectin.

With all the fame and success Ferber has reached with her jams she could easily cut many steps that are done by hand and replace by machines and produce more. But that would also mean the quality wouldn’t be the same. When there are no more strawberries in the late Autumn she would never use frozen ones in the Winter. She is a woman who respects and work together with nature and seasons, always in balance and with respect and the quantity she is producing today is the amount they are able to do, by hand. It is slow food at its best. And this way you would value the jam you get even more.

European Method of Making Jam

This French-style jam, using the Christine Ferber method, is not thickened with commercially-made powdered pectin and will result in a thinner consistency preserve. It only uses the natural pectin contained in the fruit. For low pectin fruits she will add a homemade apple pectin. She also uses lemon juice in some recipes to increase the pectin, and for accentuating the flavor. In all of her recipes, she uses only fruits, sugar, and natural flavorings, such as vanilla, mint, and wine. Jam without commercial pectin has less water in it - so it's a more concentrated fruit spread, closer to a preserve than a jelly. Jam made with commercial pectin has a more gelled consistency and is closer to a jelly.

Mme. Ferber’s jam methods also take much much longer to make. Often one, or sometimes two, days of macerating, straining, boiling down. It’s a commitment. She uses an apple jelly to thicken some of her preserves (notably cherry), which makes the process even longer. She suggests making jelly out of green apples – picked early, nearly unripe, and full of natural pectin and then adds that jelly at the same time you might add pectin.

European-style jams are often cooked to a temperature of 220 degrees Fahrenheit (104 degrees Celsius) to achieve a set texture. This temperature is crucial for activating pectin and helping the jam achieve the desired gel point. A wide pot you that has enough height to let the jam boil vigorously is ideal. More surface area means faster evaporation and ample height means you can boil the jam without it boiling over. The faster the water evaporates out of the jam is integral to having a nice, spreadably jam as opposed to a watery, runny jam. And the fruit remains fresher instead of tasting overcooked. This is also why European-style jams are made in small batches; so it cooks quickly.

Unlike the traditional jam-making method in the United States, where the filled jars are boiled in water to seal, the European method has you fill the sterilized jars with the hot jam, close them tightly, and then turn them upside down. Once they've cooled, they are sealed. This jarring method is one that's been commonly practiced in France for generations and generations.

Christine Ferber Recipes

Christine Ferber’s Green Apple Jelly (homemade Pectin)
Christine Ferber’s Bergeron Apricot-Vanilla Jam
Alsatian Apricot Jam (w/ Gewurztraminer wine)
Three-day Strawberry Jam, à la Christine Ferber
Christine Ferber's Strawberry-Lemon Grass Jam
Orange Jam w/ Spices of Alsace