TOP 8 marmalades tested

IT’S that time of year when hot buttered toast and marmalade with a cup of steaming tea is just what’s needed to cheer ourselves up.

Our survey today looks at breakfast marmalades which also make excellent flavourings for sweet and savoury dishes.

Paint some onto a joint of ham before baking, add to meat juices with duck or chicken, or to a stir fry of vegetables instead of honey for added richness. There’s a great marmalade tart recipe in Our Daily Bread, a History of Barron’s Bakery which I have put on my blog rozcrowley.com.

A chocolate and marmalade tart at www.follain.ie sounds delicious.

It’s satisfying to make your own so I bought a can of Home Cook fruit pulp. At €2.39 for 850g, by adding sugar this works out at €1.98/kg. A good idea from Boyne Valley Foods in Drogheda, it takes just 30 minutes to make.

Marmalade has a lot of sugar, so go easy if watching calories. However with about 200 calories in 100g, a heaped teaspoon won’t do much harm, and there is little or no fat.

Follain extra-fruit Seville orange, thick-cut marmalade, 370g, €2.69 (€7.27/kg)

A lovely, fresh orange flavour here is very satisfying. Nice balance, with sugar and a gentle kick from the peel. With 50% oranges, this has nearly the highest of the samples, and good texture. Good to see it is made in Macroom, Co Cork.

Score: 9

Marks & Spencer mandarin orange marmalade, 340g, €1.89 (€5.55/kg)

Medium-cut and made with Fairtrade fruit and sugar, sounds like a good deal for all. With 35% fruit, the mandarin flavour is soft and satisfying. A nice balance of fruit and sweetness. Good texture. Made in Britain.

Score: 8.5

St Dalfour thick-cut orange spread, 284g, €2.89 (€10.17/kg)

Nicely pulpy texture, with plenty of deep flavour from the 51% orange content, the highest of the selection. The sweetener is a fruit concentrate, allowing just enough sweetness to mellow the tang, which appears after a few seconds in the mouth. Fruit and juices are packed with natural sugar, so sugar content is still high. Expensive. Made in France.

Score: 8

Bonne Maman bitter-orange marmalade, 370g, €3.29 (€8.89/kg)

Lots of fine- to medium-cut peel here in a good, deep taste of orange from a lowish 28% oranges, with concentrated lemon juice. It’s not too bitter and the texture is good. The quality doesn’t quite justify the price. Made in France.

Score: 7.75

Lidl Kilderg breakfast marmalade, 340g, €1.49 (€4.38/kg)

Lots of peel taste here, with a fairly high 40% fruit, with just lemon juice and sugar added. Pleasant, with a little kick, as we expect from marmalade. Good value. A favourite of one of the tasters. Made in Abbeyleix.

Score: 7.25

Dunnes Simply Better citrus marmalade, 340g, €1.99 (€5.85/kg)

With a heavy, jelly texture, the grapefruit and orange flavours don’t come through individually and there is little or no flavour of the lemon, which comes from concentrate. The final result is sweet and pleasant, but with no citrus kick.

Score: 7

Weight Watchers orange marmalade, 250g, €2.49 (€9.96/kg)

Pale in colour, the peel is mainly at the bottom of the jar and the taste is reminiscent of an iced lolly, quite sweet and bland. With 40% oranges and added glucose-fructose syrup (a processed sugar replacement). While lower in calories than other samples, the quality does not justify price.

Score: 6.75

Fruitfield Little Chip, fine-cut lemon and lime marmalade, 454g, €2 (€4.40/kg)

Top of the list of ingredients is glucose-fructose syrup, which is a processed sugar replacement, and fruit is low, at 20%. The lemon and lime juices are made from concentrate, and a lot of pectin is added to make a stiff, jelly texture. The flavour is dominated by a lime cordial taste, which one taster particularly liked. There is very little fine peel. Oversweet for most tasters. Made in Britain for Irish-based Valeo foods.

Score: 6.5