I am partial to jam. It qualifies as a staple in our household. In fact, sometimes I wonder if having access to apricot jam shouldn’t be a human right. I could happily eat my 5 fruits a day – spread on toast.

Although we grow enough fruit for the local and the export market it doesn’t mean the jam on our supermarket shelves is made locally. The Pick ‘n Pay house label jams are a good example: The cherry jam? From Denmark. The apricot jam? From Poland. The blackcurrant jam? Denmark again. All Freshers jams (Fruit & Veg City/Food Lovers Market) are imported from Belgium. Somehow I never associated Belgium and Denmark with fruit orchards and jam factories, but there you have it. It’s not difficult to find local jam though, even in the supermarket. All the Shoprite and Checkers own-label jams are Product of South Africa. Rhodes Food Group’sRhodes and Hazeldene jams are are a mix of Product and Produce of South Africa. All the Woolworths jams are Produce of South Africa.

The pricier Hillcrest Berry Orchards label is locally manufactured.

There are many farmstall and organic varieties, for example, the Boerfontein and the Tierhoek Organic jams. They might be pricier than the supermarket brands, but then they also generally give you more fruit for your buck and less sugar. Buying farmstall jams often means you will be tasting a regional delicacy and small producers try out interesting and creative combinations of the finest flavours, like Chaloner’s raspberry and plum jam.

I have also discovered jam-making. I buy the fruit in bulk when in season or use the fruit that has grown a bit weary in the fruit bowl or fridge and make only two or three jars. As a result of my jam consumption, I have plenty of empty jars, which I sterilise with boiling water. I never bother simmering the bottled jam, it goes straight into the fridge and gets consumed within two weeks.