Buying local jam and marmalade helps to support local artisan businesses, and is also a good way to make something nice yourself. Also see the post on joining the grassroots canning movement. Jam and marmalade are not the healthiest of foods, but most of us like a bit of marmalade or jam on toast.
So let’s forget those tiny plastic-wrapped sachets in bed-and-breakfasts (who could instead support local artisans and serve in proper zero waste pots). And if you buy it, try looking in local health stores or better yet, farm shops, to find proper jam and marmalade, and not from big corporate companies. Here are a few nice companies: Also see Rubies in the Rubble, which make really good relishes from food waste.
One thing that does stand out when listing these is variety. If you visit a supermarket, you get strawberry jam, raspberry jam, perhaps strawberry & raspberry jam if you’re lucky. But just look at the variety here.
Twenty-First Century Syndrome: knowing a place so well, that you’re bored by the time you first visit. Paul Kingsnorth, Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist.
- Claire’s Handmade (Cumbria) – raspberry, strawberry elderflower, blackberry apple, blackcurrant, cherry berry (or Morello cherry), damson, gooseberry, orchard windfall, five-fruit marmalade & a savoury Roast Garlic Onion Jam
- Hembridge Organics (Somerset) – Seville or whisky marmalade, blackberry, gooseberry, plum brandy
- Briscoe’s Jellies (Yorkshire/Surrey) – raspberry gin, blackberry elderflower, apricot, strawberry rhubarb and a range of vegan jellies (mint, rosemary, mulled wine, lavender, elderflower, rose, ginger)
- Three Fruity Ladies (Herefordshire) – tayberry, jostaberry, gooseberry elderflower, damson port, plus beetroot & runner bean chutneys.
- Clare’s Preserves (Devon) – strawberry, damson apple, sweet chilli jam, beetroot orange chutney, blackcurrant lime jam, pink Exmoor gin marmalade, carrot garlic chutney, spiced damson chutney & summer pudding jam
- Heavenly Hedgerows makes local preserves, from foraged fruits. We have lost most of our hedgerows, so supporting small artisan companies like this, helps to create a demand (so developers won’t chop them down). The range includes traditional fruits like plum and strawberry, and their Sloe & Crab Apple Jelly is a great way to enjoy sloe berries.
- Emily’s Jams & Pickles (try her Warrior Chutney)
- Sarah’s Feisty Flavours for local chutneys and jams
- Jelly Pickle Jam will harvest fruit, to share the crop
The Jam Maker’s Garden is a guide to growing your own ingredients to make jam, chutney, cordial and sauce. Learn to plan a jam maker garden and then find 50 recipes. See make your garden safe for pets, to know toxic plants to avoid.
A wise bear always keep a marmalade sandwich in his hat, in case of emergency. Paddington Bear
This Baobab Jam with Ginger will set your tastebuds tingling, inspired by Eliza’s childhood in Gambia. If you fancy something a bit more exotic than local strawberry jam, this is packed with fruit with less sugar and no artificial sweeteners. And every sale donates to local food producers in Africa.
Recipe Break: Simple Strawberry Jam
You can find chia seeds in health stores and free-from aisles. Like seeds, they are best avoided for people who get seeds stuck in their teeth (or for swallowing difficulties like Parkinson’s). Stores for a few days in the fridge. This chef uses it on dry toast or you can use with palm-oil-free vegan butter.