CONOR POPElooks at raspberry jam

Real Irish Food Company €2.99 for 340g, €8.79 per kg

Okay, so the elephant in the room here is probably the price so we may as well get it out of the way by immediately pointing it out. It is the most expensive of the jams we tried – although not that much dearer than its French counterpart - and may be beyond the reach of some. It is, however, lovely and doesn’t just taste of sugar so the fruit flavours are allowed shine through as indeed are the tiny raspberry pips. It is firmly set and produced locally by a small-scale company. It has a commendably pure ingredient list and, as we sourced it in our local Tesco, it should he fairly widely available.

Verdict: Good but pricey ****

Grandessa Raspberry Preserve €1.49 for 370g, €4.02 per kg

Aldi have once again come up trumps with a locally-produced product to be found in its Specially Selected range. It has a lovely texture and the fruit flavours are not overwhelmed by sweetness. It is handmade in Co Cork with whole Williamette raspberries, which we’d never heard of until last week but will now have an enduring fondness for. Then there is the price. It is the cheapest of the jams we tried by a substantial margin and one of those products that is definitely worth looking out for on your next visit to Aldi.

Verdict: Amazing *****

Tesco Finest €1.69 for 340g, €4.97 per kg

This isn’t any old Tesco jam but its “Finest”. In fact it’s not even a jam, it’s a conserve. It has a nice coarse texture which appealed to us, as did the price, although when we bought it late last week it was on special offer and discounted by 50 cent. While it may be the finest jam (sorry, conserve) that Tesco sells under its own label, it is not the finest brand we tried and suffers from something of a sugar overload. It is very, very sweet and after trying it we had an almost overwhelming urge to brush our teeth. It’s not bad by any means and may well be to your taste if you have a particularly sweet tooth.

Verdict: Too sweet for our teeth ***

St Dalfour’s Fruit Spread €2.44 for 284g, €8.60 per kg

This is almost as expensive as the jam from the Real Irish Company and not nearly as nice. It has a heavily gelatinous texture which we were not entirely enamoured with and like its Tesco rival, it was a little too sweet for our tastes – although to be fair, there is no added sugar in the mix and the added sweetness comes from the grape juice. There is a readily discernable taste of raspberries and we can think of worse ways to start our morning.

Verdict: Sweet and dear ***