Rote Grütze – German Red Fruit Pudding Recipe (Red Grits)
This is a Summer time staple dessert in Germany, and takes advantage of the fresh berries of the season. Served with a vanilla sauce, this is a wonderful dessert, and lovely change from the usual.
Difficulty: Easy.
Preparation time: Make 24 hours in advance.
Servings: 4 – 6.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups fresh or frozen, unsweetened berries (raspberries, strawberries, red currants, or a combination of these)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Preparation:
- For fresh berries: stem, wash and dry in collander. For frozen berries: thaw before using.
- For a smooth pudding, process berries in a blender, 2 cups at a time, until pureed. For chunkier, process 4 cups, and chop the rest, blending with puree.
- Stir cornstarch in cold water until smooth.
- Combine berries and sugar in non-stick saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir cornstarch mixture again, then add into the berry mixture gradually, while still stirring.
- Reduce heat and let simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture starts to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.
- Pour into a serving bowl, or individual dessert bowls. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 24 hours. This is traditionally garnished with a Vanilla Custard Sauce , but you may also use whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or heavy cream.
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[...] This is a wonderful garnish for Rote Grütze. [...]
Wow finally found this recipe. My Husbands mother use to make this and she provided me a recipe that didn’t have measurements it would have been a fluke if it turned out right. Can’t wait to make this and surprise my husband. YUMMMMMY
My relative uses what seems to be sago in thinkening the berries and then layering it with thick vanilla sauce rather like an English trifle. delicious. BUT I can’t remember how to do the sago thing?
Sago is a starch substance from Sago Palm Trees, and looks similar to tapioca in rough form. Since Sago is not something you would easily find these days, you can use tapioca starch (sometimes referred to as tapioca flour) instead. Some people prefer it to cornstarch.
Cornstarch is an absolute NO NO here, but quite typical for people who have not grown up with this dish. Of course Sago is the only way to do it right, because that is what we traditionally use (I am from Northwest Germany). Sago is indeed a product from the former colonies and became so popular, that traditional kitchen cupboards had pre-named drawers inbuilt for it! My own Grandmother had that until 1979, there were drawers named sugar, flour, salt and sago! (Of course the german names for them)
I am living in the USA now and I am ordering my sago in bulk from amazon (4 pounds for about 14 $). If you are cooking this dish every week, that amount of sago would last you almost a year. If you make it less often, it will last even longer. It is shelf stable in room temperature in all seasons.
It is NOT Tapioca, despite its looks! It is also known (in the USA) by its asian name Sabudana. I think some Indians use it under that name, that is why it became available in the US.
how can I preserve “Rote Gruetze” ?