There are few tastier treats than jam, especially when it comes to foods that are considered ‘acceptable’ for breakfast! From those mini condiments you get in hotels to the big jars you buy from your local supermarket, jams and fruit spreads add a delicious edge to a wide range of foods, whether it’s your morning toast, afternoon scone, or weekend baked cakes. Canstar Blue compared the top jam brands on the market, so you can find out which ones are worth getting your fingers sticky for.
Canstar Blue surveyed 760 Australians for their feedback on the fruit spread and jam brand(s) they’ve purchased from a supermarket or grocer in the last three months. Note: This does not include homemade jam or jam purchased from a market.
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their fruit spread/jam brand(s) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
1. St. Dalfour
2. Cottee’s
3. IXL
4. Grandessa (ALDI)
5. Bonne Maman
6. Beerenberg
7. Woolworths
8. Coles
St. Dalfour rated five stars for taste, texture and consistency, variety and range, and overall satisfaction. Runner-up Cottee’s rated well for packaging convenience, while former winner Grandessa (ALDI) also earned top marks for value for money and packaging convenience.
Find more detailed information on our ratings methodology.
Hailing from the Marmande regions of France, St. Dalfour produces a line of jams with a focus on ethically sourced local fruit and small batch processing to ensure the superior quality of each jar of jam. St. Dalfour uses grape ‘must’ ─ a sweet by-product of winemaking ─ as a natural alternative to artificial additives and cane sugars. The brand also says no preservatives are ever used. St. Dalfour has a range of up to 20 jams on offer, some of which include:
You can purchase St. Dalfour products from most major supermarkets and grocers for around $5.70.
Not all jam brands in the market qualify for our ratings (based on minimum survey sample size), but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth considering. Here are several more brands to check out before making a purchase decision.
Jam is made by mixing crushed whole fruit with heated water and sugar (and sometimes pectin and an acid) to create a jelly-like spreadable consistency. Jam is usually made using small fruits, including various berries and grapes, plus larger stone fruits such as apricots, peaches and plums.
While sugar is a common ingredient in jam and other fruit spreads, there are also slight differences between the different types of spread:
Our latest survey shows strawberry is the most popular flavour of jam among Aussies (43%), followed by raspberry (23%), apricot (11%), plum (7%), blackcurrant (5%) and blueberry (4%). Either way ─ most Aussies aren’t too fussy, with 38% having tried multiple brands of jam, although 45% stick to the same brand. As for the reason for picking a particular jam brand, well, no surprises there – 54% like their jam because it tastes the best!
Megan is Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Editor, leading the team that focuses on consumer products and services, ranging from supermarkets and groceries to home and personal appliances and retail stores. She interprets Canstar Blue’s bespoke research on the thousands of brands that we compare, rate and review, to help shoppers make better purchasing decisions.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Here are the past winners from Canstar Blue’s fruit spread & jam ratings:
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