Confiture de Bar-le-Duc (Redcurrant Jam)
Bar-le-Duc is home to one of the most labour-intensive food products on earth: a seedless redcurrant preserve made by hand-plucking each tiny seed from every berry with a goose quill. Royalty and writers from Mary Queen of Scots to Victor Hugo adored it, and it is still produced in the town today.
The art of épépinage
The technique, called épépinage à la plume d'oie (seeding with a goose quill), requires skilled workers to hollow out each redcurrant individually before cooking the fruit with sugar. A single kilogram of finished jam can take hours of meticulous hand labour, which is why a small jar commands a price that surprises first-time buyers.
The result is extraordinary: translucent jewel-red berries suspended in a delicate syrup, with none of the grittiness of ordinary jam. Spread it on a buttered baguette and you understand immediately why Napoleon III kept it on his table.
Where to buy and taste it
The historic producer Dutriez, operating since 1879, is the most famous name and sells directly from its boutique in Bar-le-Duc. A small jar (around 100 g) costs roughly €8–12 — treat it as an edible souvenir rather than an everyday spread.
Local épiceries and the covered market also stock it, and during summer festivals you may catch a live épépinage demonstration, watching artisans work at astonishing speed with their tiny quills.
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