Jam Today preserves are pretty old fashioned when it comes to ingredients.

I do not use preservatives, thickeners, gelling agents, flavour enhancers or any of the other mystifying ingredients found in many commercial preserves today.

As an example my ingredients list for Damson Jam reads: Damsons & Sugar.

The methods are also essentially old fashioned. In my jam kitchen you will see knives, chopping boards, vegetable peelers and traditional preserving pans. (My most powerful machine is a slightly scary juice extractor designed for the domestic American market.) The preserves are finished by traditional open batch boiling and potted by hand.

The “Today” part about Jam Today is a complete rethink of how to make preserves.

Many conventional recipes in current use date from the second world war, when it was essential to produce a cheap and cheerful product that would keep well with old fashioned wax and cellophane jar tops. This led to government recommendations of 60% sugar and many fruits were cooked in water to make a little fruit go a long way.

I am very conscious of my own sugar intake and I like my jams to have as much fruit and as little sugar as possible. I now use no water in any of my jams and minimal water with marmalades. This produces robust preserves with a lot of texture and an intense flavour.

I make no apology for the price of my preserves, (fruit costs more than sugar and water). I think you will notice the difference in taste and texture and find that a little goes a long way.

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