Jams, Jellies and the Good Things in Life

[Photo credit: DuPont.com]

Just like sugar and sweetess, jam and jelly generally bring favorable, positive connotations. One source has compared jam to happiness: "Happiness is like jam, you can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself. [Source]

William Boyd, in Any Human Heart, says that he is reminded of ambrosia, the food of the Greek and Roman gods: "Hot crumpets with butter and jam - what could be more ambrosial?" . Chinese-American writer adds jelly, marmalade and preserves to the mix: "The jelly - the jam and the marmalade, And the cherry-and quince-'preserves' she made! And the sweet-sour pickles of peach and pear, With cinnamon in 'em, and all things rare! - And the more we ate was the more to spare, Out to old Aunt Mary's! Ah!" [Source]

As for spreads containing chocolate, the goodness, and complementary connotations, have already been dealt with earlier in the blog. It goes without saying that it would be better for diabetics, and dieters, if these products were also available to them.

Jams, jellies, preserves and spreads are of course eaten with bread, in sandwiches. So before tackling the sugar-free versions of these food products, we will appreciate them more if we touch on their background.

A Brief Background

We are informed that a "jelly" is "a semitransparent confection consisting of the strained juice of various fruits or vegetables, singly or in combination, sweetened, boiled, slowly simmered, and congealed, often with the aid of pectin, gelatin, or a similar substance." ["jelly." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014.]

On the other hand, "Jams are made from the entire fruit, including the pulp, while preserves are essentially jellies that contain whole or large pieces. Marmalade, usually made from citrus fruit, is a jellylike concentrate of prepared juice and sliced peel." [fruit processing." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014.]

The same reference tells us that a "sandwich," which is usually where we put jams, jellies, marmalades and spreads, is "in its basic form, slices of meat, cheese, or other food placed between two slices of bread. Although this mode of consumption must be as old as meat and bread, the name was adopted only in the 18th century for John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, who had sliced meat and bread brought to him at the gaming table so that he could continue to play as he ate." ["sandwich." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014.]

Sugar-free Fruit Preserves, Marmalades and Spreads

As with the other food products or beverages with which we have dealt, sugar-free versions of these products did not come about until safe sugar substitutes had become available. In a way, the necessity of sugar-free versions of jams and jellies is less "urgent" than other products that we have taken up. Sandwiches can be filled or spread with "slices of meat, cheese, or other food placed between two slices of bread." [op. cit]

Butter, margarine, mayonnaise, or other spreads might be used if sweet ones are unavailable. Perhaps, this is the reason why, unlike soft drinks, instant cofee mixes, or other other products, jellies, jams or marmalades, or other sweet spreads are not yet that widely available in the country.

However, they are now available, albeit not yet that abundant, zas we will inform readers of this blog.

The most widely available supplier of preserves and marmalades that we have been able to encounter is the American company Smucker's. Blackberry, cherry and strawberry preserves (provided in 12.75-ounce or 361-gram glass jars) can be bought in several supermarkets in the metropolis. They are a most enticing choice for diabetics and dieters, especially positioned as they are among non-sugar free, and therefore forbidden jams, jellies and marmalades.

Another, which we have found in only one supermarket, is the French-made St. Dalfour, which is available in a 284-gram (10-ounce) glass jar. Three flavors are available: thick apricot, thick cut orange spread, and blackcurrant.

Then, there is D'Arbo Dietetic (produced by an Austrian company),  which, as the name indicates, is especially for those with restrictions in their diet. Its sugar substitute is not a zero-calorie one, but one which contains reduced calories (about a third those of sugar - sorbitol. The preserves available in supermarkets check by the author are apricot and blueberry.

Other than preserves and marmalades, only one other sweet spread has been found by the author in supermarkets. Surprisingly, this is not the common peanut butter, but rather a hazelnut-choco spread. The producer is a company that is already well-known to be dieter- and diabetic-friendly for still another product, chocolate bars: Valor. Valor Hazelnut-choco Spread, again an inviting alternative for this food category, can be purchased in 400-gram glass jars.

The products are still far from available everywhere, but this is a beginning, a favorable development for diabetics and dieters. Again, it amounts to an improvement in the quality of life for the people being served by of our blog.