Veganes "Schmalz" (vegan dripping-style spread)
A vegan take on traditional German Schmalz, onions and apple cooked down for well over an hour until they collapse into a deep brown, jammy mass, since real Schmalz gets its savoury depth from meat rendered slowly for hours, and only an equally long, slow cook on the vegetables comes close to matching that. Blending in coconut fat while both the fat and the vegetable mixture are still warm is what lets it set into a firm, spreadable block once chilled.
Prep20 min
Cook90 min
Rest180 min
Servings4
Christoph's vegan Schmalz, the onions and apple cooked down for well over an hour to approximate the depth of slowly rendered meat fat.
Ingredients
Written for a 2 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Schmalz
- 400 g onion, thinly sliced rounded
- 200 g apple, peeled, diced rounded
- 30 ml neutral oil rounded
- 150 g coconut fat, solid at room temperature rounded
- 3 g ground allspice rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
Dietary labels are a guide, not a guarantee. If you have an allergy, read the ingredients yourself.
Method
- Heat the oil in a pot over low heat. Add the onions and apple and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, for 75 to 90 minutes, until deeply browned and collapsed into a jammy mass with no distinct pieces remaining.
- Melt the coconut fat gently. Blend the warm onion-apple mixture with the melted coconut fat, allspice, salt and pepper until mostly smooth, leaving a little texture.
- Pour into a small jar or dish and let cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 3 hours, until firm.
Notes
- Cook the onions and apple low and slow for the full time. Real Schmalz develops its savoury depth from meat rendered for hours; only an equally long, gentle cook on the vegetables gets anywhere close to that depth, and rushing it at higher heat just gives sharp, undercooked onion flavour.
- Blend the coconut fat in while everything is still warm. Cold, solid coconut fat blended with room-temperature vegetables doesn’t emulsify smoothly; warmth from both sides lets them combine properly before the fat resolidifies.
- Let it set fully in the fridge before using. It needs the full chilling time to firm up into a spreadable, sliceable block rather than staying soft.
- It keeps for a week in the fridge.
Ingredient substitutions
- Coconut fat is what gives this its firm, spreadable set at fridge temperature; a liquid oil won’t solidify the same way.
- A bay leaf simmered with the onions, removed before blending, adds a traditional herbal note.
- Serve on dark rye bread, the traditional German way to eat Schmalz.
From Christoph Mayer