Member Comments

Interesting that the Select brand appeared to have the highest raspberry content, which should have made it the best tasting of the lot. But I think Consumer took the manufacturers' word for the percentages of fruit content rather than test it themselves?

I guess we are lucky that bought jam is of better quality than it was when I was a kid. I used to wonder what the English children in the books I read ever saw in bread and jam for tea. Then my mother made some plum jam from the fruit hanging over the fence from our neighbour's property. We either had it with the "Sunday loaf" (remember it, anyone--a crusty white loaf, unwrapped and unsliced?) or Mum also made a loaf of bread. Oh yum! We must have made atrocious pigs of ourselves! Bought jam came in tins in those days and always tasted as though at least half of it was pumpkin and the rest mostly sugar.

Anatoth has changed ownership and policies, as told to my family by the Popes who started Anatoth. According to them, they took in partners and became minority shareholders, then later gave up their share and set up a new company under their own name, after Anatoth made a majority decision to purchase fruit overseas in preference to locally grown fruit. The small print on Anatoth jams confirms that only blackcurrant jam and mamalade are from local fruit. I have concerns about possible pesticide residues from the imported fruit they use. This is less likely to be an issue with the local fruit used by Popes and perhaps Barkers.

A tv programme some years ago, Country Calender maybe, or such-like, about the and the local berry growers in the Motueka / Upper Moutere area who supplied Anathoth AND some of the many women who made the jam in their own homes for Anathoth (which explains the slight variations, which I like). I don,t know if Anathoth have varied this practice.
Anyway, I buy nothing else, though like B. Hellier I make my own (grapefruit) marmalade. David Ingram

It is a pity that Pope Raspberry jam wasn't tested as I think it is a great jam and I am sure it would have blitzed the panel. On the container Pope say that the jam is hand made in a jam pan using NZ fruit, Australian sugar and a knob of butter. Yum, just like I used to make. I used to buy Anathoths jams but found the consistency to be variable.

I will only buy Anathoth jams, as they are far superior to other brands. Really full of fruit. I do make my own marmalade though.

but I can never get the last of the jam at the bottom due to the shape of the jar.Too long and narrow.

The only jam I will buy is Anathoth. All their jams are far superior to other brands. I do make my own marmalade though. Barbara Hellier

One aspect of the report completely ignored is the origin of the fruit used in the jams. I beleive that Barkers is all NZ but am not sure on the Anathoth.