27-07-2017
Stefan Gruber
If you look at the map of the province of Bolzano, there’s no doubt that Braies, with its lake and natural park, is at the very edge, on the eastern outskirts, far away from Bolzano, almost on the border with Austria. Stefan Gruber, one of the 652 inhabitants in a town that is a diamond in a valley on the side of Val Pusteria, recalls this so as to stress the difficulties an entrepreneur must face.
He’ll turn 44 this year. When he was 20 years younger, an orphan since the age of nine, he decided to give substance to his life: he started making jams in a garage, or little more, in nearby Dobbiaco. The only son after four daughters, when his father died he inherited the family maso, Oberdorner Hof, which is not a majestic hut on the cliff of the hills overlooking the valley, as you can find many others in South Tyrol. His hut is perched in a valley, surrounded by woods and fields. It’s a fairy-tale.
You make yourself at home on the terrace and you’ll soon desire a hut like this so as to relax from the big city and enjoy the nature. It’s a different reality: «At 14
He invented his future in 1997 when he started to produce delicious jam, some 15 flavours cooked in steel pots just like you’d do at home. The pioneering phase lasted seven years. In 2003 Stefan left Dobbiaco and returned to the maso, and rightly so since the two words he chose as his brand, precise though not straightforward, especially the second for someone who’s not local, are Alpe Pragas. Pragas is the ancient name of Braies, so the Alp of Braies.
Stefan and Karoline Gruber in the fields surrounding SanBrite, restaurant and dairy factory in Cortina d'Ampezzo
They cook jam in a vacuum at 70/72°C, a low temperature, with less sugar than usual, so once you open the jar it’s best to finish it in one or two weeks maximum. The most popular flavours are apricots, strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. Italians are not very fond of cherries, which Germans love. Mostarde [chutneys] and wine gelatines, juices and syrups are worth trying. Organic is a belief, not a whim.
The woods and fields around Alpe Pragas in Braies in Pusteria
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
A mouth watering page, published every Sunday in Il Giornale from November 1999 to the autumn of 2010. Stories and personalities that continue to live in this website
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born in Milan in March 1955, at Il Giornale for 31 years dividing himself between sports and food, since 2004 he's the creator and curator of Identità Golose. blog www.paolomarchi.it instagram instagram.com/oloapmarchi