To say UK households love jam is an understatement, with families putting it in sandwiches, on toast, in salad dressings, as well as in baking. The jam aisle in supermarkets can be quite overwhelming with own-branded jams and big household names taking up lots of shelf space. I recently put supermarket brands up against one another to perform a blind taste test.
This included Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Tesco and Asda, and I compared them to Hartleys. The results were surprising, and I couldn’t believe how different they tasted from one another.
1. Lidl – 89p
Lidl’s jam took the taste test off to a great start, with the budget supermarket’s raspberry jam smooth in texture and tasting fresh.
However, there wasn’t that much flavour in this jam compared to the other ones we tried.
Score: 6/10
2. Morrisons – 90p
Unfortunately, Morrisons’ jam ranked quite low in the taste test as it was too thick and had a jelly-like consistency, which we weren’t a fan of.
It also tasted quite strong and artificial compared to some others we tried.
Score: 2/10
3. Sainsbury’s – 89p
Although this jam had a great consistency, it was a lot more sour compared to some of the others in the taste test.
It has a decent flavour but tastes slightly artificial, but overall I would eat this again on toast.
Score: 5/10
4. Aldi – 89p
Aldi’s jam was absolutely delicious with a great flavour which wasn’t artificial at all.
The texture was great and it wasn’t too sweet or too tangy, it was perfect and came in first place in the taste test.
Score: 10/10
5. Tesco – 89p
Tesco’s seedless raspberry jam tasted super sweet compared to some others we tried, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
It had a super distinctive raspberry taste and overall was tasty on toast.
Score: 7/10
6. Asda – 89p
Asda’s seedless raspberry jam also had a great raspberry flavour that wasn’t artificial.
We preferred other ones in the taste test, but would gladly have this again.
Score: 7/10
7. Hartley’s – £1.70
Hartley’s jam had a grainy texture, and the consistency was way too thick, almost jelly-like.
It was quite sweet, but we did enjoy the flavour, but it didn’t win over Aldi.
Score: 5/10