Bar-le-duc jelly
Bar-le-duc jelly (French pronunciation: [baʁ lə dyk]) is a highly regarded preparation of jelly originally composed of select whole seeded currants, typically white currants or red currants. The name Bar-le-duc refers to the geographical origin of the preparation in the French town of Bar-le-duc. Since the jelly's first documented reference in 1344, the culinary name "Lorraine jelly" is occasionally used, as the city of Bar-le-duc lies within the boundaries of the former province of Lorraine.
A jar of red currant jam | |
| Type | Spread |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | France |
| Region or state | Bar-le-duc |
| Main ingredients | Currants (white currants or less commonly, red currants) |
| Other information | also prepared in some former French colonies, notably New France (now Canada and the United States) |
Commonly served as an accompaniment to game, spread on bread, or with foie gras, it is considered a culinary luxury, purportedly sharing an elite status akin to Beluga caviar and is colloquially referred to as Bar caviar. The typical product is a jam, with the berries remaining intact in a thin syrup. About 200 currants go into one 85 gram jar (approximately 3 ounces), which costs approximately €18 a jar in Bar-le-Duc (as of 2021) and $40 in the US (as of 2008). The spread has been enjoyed by notables such as Alfred Hitchcock, Ernest Hemingway, Victor Hugo, and Mary, Queen of Scots.