I tried supermarket jams – an 89p winner and tastes better than posher brands
TO say we love jam in the UK is an understatement.
Every year, we spend over £200 million on the sweet spread, with raspberry a favourite choice.
Meghan Markle recently released her own raspberry jam, which sold out in just an hour.
Raspberries are full of antioxidants, rich in vitamins and have a lower sugar content when compared to other fruits.
If you pick them too early, the jam will be sour or tart. Pick too late and the jam may be too sweet.
LYNSEY HOPE tried some supermarket jars to find the sweetest, fruitiest spread for your toast:
Hartley’s Raspberry Jam (300g)
- £1.50
- 50p per 100g
Lynsey says: “I’d expected this branded jam to contain more fruit than some of the supermarket offerings, but there was actually only 35g fruit per 100g.
“Despite this, it tasted very sweet and fruity, but the taste was a little artificial. I liked the seeds within the spread.
“The ingredients were simple with sugar, raspberries and water being the main ingredients. Quite pricey for a small jar.”
- Taste: 4/5
- Value: 3/5
- Total: 7/10
Aldi Grandessa Seedless Raspberry Jam (454g)
- 69p
- 15.1p per 100g
Lynsey says: “Aldi‘s jam smelt really strong when I took the lid off and a little overpowering.
“The spread was heavy on raspberries with 45g fruit per 100g but it tasted overly sweet, probably because of the glucose-fructose syrup used to make it taste sweet.
“It’s a nice deep red colour but the consistency was a little gloopy and thick. Not easy to spread.”
- Taste: 2/5
- Value: 2/5
- Total score: 4/10
Essential Waitrose Seedless Raspberry Jam (454g)
- £1.40
- 30.8p per 100g
Lynsey says: “The Waitrose jam had a deliciously appetising deep red hue, it was almost plum in colour and I couldn’t wait to lather this on my toast.
“It was extremely sweet and it’s no surprise given it contains 45g fruit per 100g and 63g sugar.
“The sugary taste masked the authentic flavour of the raspberries but I did enjoy the light, tangy aftertaste The smooth, seedless texture was perfect too.”
- Taste: 4/5
- Value: 4/5
- Total score: 8/10
Sainsbury’s Raspberry Jam (454g)
- 89p
- 20p per 100g
Lynsey says: “If I hadn’t seen the label, I would have said this was a higher quality branded jam. The colour is so pretty and it’s delicately seeded.
“The sweetness is spot on and the balance of raspberries in the spread is perfect, with 45g fruit per 100g.
“The sweetness was spot on and it wasn’t overly tart or sour.
“Perfect for toast, sandwiches or cakes – my winner.”
- Taste: 5/5
- Value: 5/5
- Total score: 10/10
How to save money on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Tesco Raspberry Jam (454g)
- 89p
- 20p per 100g
Lynsey says: “The Tesco jam had a lovely thick consistency and a deliciously, sweet fruity flavour.
“It contained 45g fruit per 100g and wasn’t as sugary tasting as some of the brands.
“It was a little thicker, which gave it an almost home-made feel and the ingredients were simple with just sugar, raspberries, gelling agents and acidity regulators.
“It’s a great price, too. Overall, I was impressed.”
- Taste: 4/5
- Value: 5/5
- Total score: 9/10
Morrisons Raspberry Jam (420g)
- £1.15
- 27.3g per 100g
Lynsey says: “I wonder if Morrisons is practising a bit of shrinkflation here as the jar is slightly smaller than all the other own brand options, making it more expensive per 100g spread.
“It does have a nice depth of flavour, but the raspberries are a little overpowered by sugar.
“Like many of the other supermarket offerings, it contains around 45g fruit per 100g spread.
“It was ok – not my favourite and not the cheapest.”
- Taste: 3/5
- Value: 3/5
- Total score: 6/10
Asda Seedless Raspberry Jam (454g)
- £1.15
- 25.3p per 100g
Lynsey says: “Asda‘s jam is a good budget buy but it is quite sweet tasting.
“Like Aldi, it contains glucose-fructose syrup to make it sweet and there’s more sugar than most of the brands.
“The raspberry flavour was a little tart and the consistency a little runny.
“I did like Asda‘s branding. It was a pretty jar for the price, but let down a bit on taste.”
- Taste: 3/5
- Value: 3/5
- Total score: 6/10
M&S Raspberry Conserve (340g)
- £2.60
- 76.5p per 100g
Lynsey says: “Pricey but this is delicious with a perfectly sweet and sharp flavour.
“It has a lovely consistency, perfectly set without being too thick. The raspberries tastes authentic and there is a generous 55g of fruit per 100g.
“It’s not overly sweet with a perfect tangy, flavour and appetising aroma.
“It wasn’t overly tart or sour – M&S have this spot on.”
- Taste: 5/5
- Value: 3/5
- Total score: 8/10
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