Nastergal Konfyt: What It Is & Where to Buy It

Nastergal konfyt is a deep purple-black preserve made from the wild nastergal berry, hand-harvested at full ripeness and cooked down in small batches on our Highveld farm. “Konfyt” is simply the Afrikaans word for jam, so nastergal konfyt and nastergal jam are one and the same thing — the label on our jar reads “Nastergal Jam”, and we use the two words interchangeably around here.

The berry itself is worth knowing a little about. Nastergal (Solanum nigrum / Solanum retroflexum, also called black nightshade or sunberry, and umsobo in isiZulu) is a wild, indigenous African berry that has been eaten across Southern Africa for generations. It is not something you can pick up fresh at the supermarket — it grows largely wild, and the season is short, roughly late summer through to March. If you want the full picture of the plant and its history, we’ve written a dedicated guide on what a nastergal is.

Konfyt and jam: the same thing, two words

There is no clever technical line to draw here. Konfyt is the Afrikaans word for jam, and that is the whole story. Some folks grew up calling it konfyt at their grandmother’s kitchen table; others call it jam. Both are correct, and both describe exactly what sits in the jar: ripe fruit cooked slowly with sugar until it sets into a spoonable preserve. When you see “nastergal konfyt” and “nastergal jam” used side by side, they point to the identical product — ours included.

What nastergal konfyt tastes and looks like

The first thing people notice is the colour. This is a deep purple-black preserve — not clear, not red, but a dark, almost inky purple that comes straight from the fully ripe berries. Spread it on white bread and you’ll see exactly what we mean.

The taste is where it earns its place on the table. Nastergal konfyt is mildly sweet, gently earthy, and carries a soft tomato-like tang that rounds the whole thing out. It is distinctive without being cloying — there’s a savoury edge underneath the sweetness that sets it apart from your everyday berry jam. If you’ve only ever known jam as straightforwardly sweet, this is something different: fruity, yes, but with depth and a grown-up, earthy character that makes it as at home next to cheese as it is on a scone.

How we make it

Every jar starts in the veld. The nastergal berries are hand-harvested at full ripeness — that deep purple-black stage is the whole point, because only the fully ripe berries carry the flavour and the safety we want. (For the honest, plain answer on ripe versus green berries, see our guide on whether nastergal is poisonous.)

Because the berry is wild and the season is short, we work in small batches at Bloukop Farm, near Amersfoort in the Mpumalanga Highveld. There’s no shortcut and no year-round factory line — we cook what the season gives us, when it gives it, the way it has always been done. That’s part of why nastergal konfyt is a bit special: it is genuinely seasonal, genuinely made by hand, by the two of us. You can read more about the farm and family behind it on our story page.

How to serve and use it

Most people reach for jam and think of toast — and yes, nastergal konfyt is lovely on hot buttered toast or a fresh scone. But its earthy, tomato-tinged tang means it truly comes alive on the savoury side of the table, which is where we think it earns its keep:

• On a cheese board. It’s made for cheese. The deep, earthy fruit plays beautifully against a sharp, mature cheddar, and it looks striking against pale cheeses on the board.
• With mature cheddar and crackers. A wedge of good cheddar, a plain cracker, and a spoon of nastergal konfyt is one of the simplest and best ways to taste what it does.
• As a glaze for meat. Brush it over lamb, pork or ribs on the braai in the last few minutes of cooking — the sweetness and tang caramelise into a dark, glossy glaze.
• Alongside a cheese platter or charcuterie. Cold meats, a soft cheese, some bread — it ties the plate together.
• The classic way, on toast, scones or fresh farm bread with butter.

The savoury pairings are, honestly, the part most people haven’t tried yet — and once they do, the jar tends to migrate from the breakfast table to the supper table.

Where to buy nastergal konfyt

Here’s the practical part. You won’t find our nastergal konfyt on the shelves at Takealot, Woolworths, Checkers or the other big retailers — it isn’t stocked there. It is made and sold direct from the farm, which is exactly why ordering online, straight from us, is the way to get it.

To buy, you place an order through the order form on our website. It comes in two jar sizes, 500g and 175g, so you can pick up a proper jar for the pantry or a smaller one to try. Both individuals and trade buyers are welcome: if you run a shop, deli or farm stall, enter your Zuidvaal account number on the form to unlock wholesale pricing (wholesale needs a minimum order of 24 jars). If you’d like a step-by-step on ordering direct, we’ve laid it all out in how to buy nastergal jam online.

And if you’re after more than just the nastergal, our full products page carries the rest of the range — a dozen-plus other jams, jellies, marmalade, raw honey and gift packs made the same small-batch way.

Nastergal konfyt is one of those things you have to taste to understand — the dark colour, the earthy sweetness, the soft tomato-like tang against a sharp cheddar. We make it by hand, in small batches, from wild berries picked at the peak of a short season, and we’d love for you to try it. When you’re ready, place your order direct from the farm, and we’ll send it from our Highveld table to yours.