Europe: Germany
Roete Grutze is a very famous dessert in Northern Germany and the name stands for Red Gruel…aah that is where you get all the antioxidants. This dessert acts as a syrup with pancakes, dessert topping, and addition to cocktail, sorbets, puddings and to the sweetmeat of your choice. This dessert is simply exciting and at least I found it to be a rocking gumbo of berries and sago (starch made from the pith of sago palm). This jelly is made by separating the stalk from black currants, red currants, raspberries, strawberries and cherries; and chucking them into a boiling pot of water, leaving out strawberries and cherries.
Strain the juices from the fruit and then again set to boil and blend in sugar and then boil it again. Once it has got a drooping consistency add water and simmer, followed by the addition of sago and then cooking it until sago is cooked. The most melting, tempting and filling addition is when chopped cherries and strawberries are folded into the dish. Now is the finishing touch, which really matters as to how you finish it. You can serve it in a glass bowl once chilled and scoop into it your favorite vanilla ice cream. My mouth has started watering already and now I am actually brainstorming for getting the best stuff to accompany it with, not the existing desserts, but something that can really add a bit of mint to the red gruel.
