Don’t get yourself in a jam by buying the wrong preserves! Some are made with real, whole fruit and can be a great addition to a wholesome breakfast or the perfect PB&J, but many are made with more added sugar than real fruit – and some contain no real fruit at all! In today’s Love it, Like it, Hate it, Molly gives us the skinny on the best & worst of jams, jellies, & preserves on shelves.
Jelly, jam & preserves: Typically all made from fruit mixed with sugar & pectin (a carbohydrate found in cell walls of most fruit that gels to add thickness). The main difference is the form that the fruit takes:
- Jelly: fruit juice is used
- Jam: fruit is in the form of pulp or crushed fruit; texture is more similar to pureed fruit
- Preserves: fruit is in chunks or pieces, surrounded by a syrup or a jam
Nutrition facts below are for one tablespoon
LOVE IT!
Tart Cherry Butter by Eden Foods
- 35 calories – 9 grams carbs – 8 grams sugar – just cherries, nothing else
- Organic tart cherries
Bionature Fruit Spread
- 30 calories – 8 grams carbs – 6 grams sugar
- Berry blend, apple juice concentrate, fruit pectin, ascorbic acid
LIKE IT!
Smucker’s Low Sugar Jelly
- 25 calories – 6 grams carbs – 5 grams sugar
- Grape juice, sugar, water, fruit pectin, locust bean gum, potassium sorbate
- Still just sugar, but about half of regular jelly. Also no artificial sweeteners
HATE IT!
Smucker’s Sugar Free Jam
- 10 calories – 5 grams carbs – 0 sugar (+ 3 grams fiber from maltodextrin)
- Water, fruit, polydextrose, maltodextrin, fruit pectin, locust bean gum, natural flavor, citric acid, potassium sorbate, sucralose (Splenda), calcium chloride, red 40, blue 1
- Very low calorie & zero sugar but has artificial sweetener sucralose + artificial colors red 40 & Blue 1.
Smucker’s & Welch’s Jam & Jelly
- 50 calories – 13 grams carbs – 12 grams sugar
- Strawberry or grape juice, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit pectin, citric acid (no real strawberries)
Bonne Maman Marmalade
- 50 calories – 13 grams carbs – 13 grams sugar
- Sugar is first ingredient, followed by orange peels and then more sugar
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