The French are the second Europeans who eat the most jam, just after the Germans. But consumers can quickly become overwhelmed by the amount of choice available on the shelves. So RMC Conso asked a nutritionist about the criteria that should be considered when choosing the right jam.
Very popular product. Jam is one of the favorite toppings of 69% of French people, according to a poll conducted by Odoxa and published last March. Each family consumes approximately 4 kilograms per year. If consumers particularly prefer strawberry and apricot jam, the shelves are full of different tastes.
But in addition to flavour, the content of fruit, sugar, preservatives and pesticides also varies from one product to another. RMC Conso evaluates to guide you in your search for the best jam.
Differentiate between jam, jam and jelly
From a preparation point of view, jam is obtained by cooking fresh fruit, fruit puree or fruit pulp with sugar. This term is also regulated by the Decree of August 14, 1985, which requires the use of at least 35 grams of fruit per 100 grams of the final product. The text makes some exceptions for citrus fruit jams, such as passion fruit or red currant.
But that’s not all, as the product must also consist of 55% sugar in order for it to be jam. Below this content we talk about “low-fat” jam or “fruit preparation.”
“Jam” is a mixture of fruits containing pieces, and is made from citrus fruits, such as orange, lemon, and grapefruit. Not only does it contain more sugar than jam, but it also contains less fruit: 20 grams per 100 grams of product.
It is also important to distinguish between jam and jelly. Although the latter is made using the same principle as jam, it contains fruit juice rather than fruit pulp or puree.
Check the amount of fruit and sugar
Nutritionist Alexandra Morcier highly recommends analyzing your jam’s label before paying. “The shorter the list, the better,” she explains, before reminding us that jam should “mainly fruit and sugar.”
“The best thing is to choose a jam with the highest percentage of fruit. For example, in Bonne Maman’s apricot condensed jam, we have 64 grams of fruit in 100 grams of the final product, which is not bad,” she says.
In fact, the more fruit the jam contains and the less sugar it contains, “it’s a matter of calculation,” the specialist insists. If the product does not display the exact ratio of sugar and fruit, remember that on the labels the ingredients are always displayed from most concentrated to least concentrated.
“If your jam label shows sugar as the first ingredient, it means there is more sugar than fruit, which is what you should avoid,” says Alexandra Morcier.
She notes that these products can also contain “lemon juice or ascorbic acid for preservation, and pectin for gel,” before adding that these are “frequent” and non-dangerous ingredients.
Avoid “fake sugars”
To compensate for the lower sugar, some manufacturers add sweeteners, such as aspartame or acesulfame K. Although cutting down on sugar may seem like a good idea, jams made with one of these alternatives are not recommended for health, according to a nutritionist.
“In the long term, especially if consumed in large quantities, sweeteners can have negative effects on health, and may be particularly linked to the occurrence of cancer, fertility problems, digestive problems, etc.,” says the nutritionist.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also reported “potentially harmful” effects from “long-term” use of artificial sweeteners, “such as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases,” the United Nations website reports. . The World Health Organization even classified aspartame as a probable carcinogen last July.
Switch to organic jams
Nannies do not escape the presence of pesticides. However, this is what a survey conducted on 40 jam references by 60 million consumers in April 2023 revealed. In total, “15 different molecules of pesticides and fungicides” were found in 22 of the jars studied.
In general, apricot jam is the most contaminated with pesticides. There are in particular the jar of the distributor brand Auchan La gourmande, the fruity Confipote 65%, the Gerblé without added sugars, the distributor brand Intermarché Paquito, as well as the low-fat jam of the distributor brand Cora. Regarding strawberry-based jams, it was the jar of the Reflets de France brand marketed by Carrefour that showed the highest contamination.
To avoid this exposure to pesticides, Alexandra Morcier recommends that consumers prefer jams made from organic fruits. “It’s a way to reduce the risk of exposure,” she says. In fact, no traces of pesticides were found in jars of organic jams analyzed as part of the survey of 60 million consumers.
Although there are very good jams that combine a good concentration of fruit, a reasonable dose of sugar and the absence of pesticides, the best thing is to make the jam yourself. “Not only does this allow us to measure the fruit-to-sugar ratio, but it also allows us to avoid pesticides by using organic fruits,” encourages the nutritionist.
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