Strawberry jam – it has to be one of the most versatile spreads out there. It’s delicious on warm toast, on scones or dolloped in the belly of doughnuts. But not all jam is equal and there are some pretty bad versions out there (although it’s sometimes hard to tell.) So with the help of the CHOICE team, here are the worst and best strawberry jam in the country.

The CHOICE taste tester panel (best job EVER!) has tested 16 supermarket strawberry jams from brands including Aldi, Bonne Maman, Coles, Cottee’s, and Woolworths, to discover exactly which products you should add to your trolley.

“Our experts conducted a blind taste test of 16 different kinds of jam, judging them on appearance, aroma, flavour and texture,” says CHOICE food writer, Rachel Clemons.

The Best Strawberry Jam Overall

It’s not too much a surprise that the jam that took top honours in flavour, was actually a homemade strawberry jam. The homemade microwave strawberry jam, created by CHOICE home economist Fiona Mair, scored an impressive 85% in the taste test. Get the recipe here.

This easy homemade jam cost about $5.30 for a 400g jar (or $1.30 per 100g) to make, although it would cost less in summer when strawberries are cheaper.

However, not everyone has the time or inclination to turn fruit into jam at the cooktop and fresh strawberries can be pricey, especially when they’re not in season. So, let’s put aside the homemade variety and focus on the best strawberry jam on the supermarket shelves.

The Best Strawberry Jam (Supermarket)

Beerenberg Australian Strawberry Jam

CHOICE Score: 75%
Price per 100g: $1.57
Good to know: This jam is 51% strawberries, and contains 99% Australian ingredients. It’s also one of the more expensive products in our review.

“Glossy, natural colour. Beautiful, strawberry/lemon aroma. Sweet strawberry flavour with some acidity. Lots of seeds.”

Other Top-Scoring Strawberry Jams

Aldi Grandessa Signature Strawberry Premium Jam

CHOICE Score: 74%
Price per 100g: $0.54
Good to know: Aldi’s premium-tier jam is 50% strawberries, and is made in Belgium.

“Rich, deep red colour. Light, pleasant strawberry aroma. Thick and chunky jam with evident fruit lumps. Can picture this on a great scone.”

Woolworths Essentials Strawberry Jam

CHOICE Score: 74%
Price per 100g: $0.28
Good to know: It’s the cheapest jam in the test (along with the budget-tier jams from Aldi and Coles), is 40% strawberries, and is made in Belgium.

“Dark strawberry colour. Pleasant, subtle, sweet strawberry fragrance. Good balance of sweet and acid. Nice strawberry chunks, which are the stars of this jam.”

Bonne Maman Strawberry Conserve

CHOICE Score: 71%
Price per 100g: $1.41
Good to know: One of the more expensive products in the test, this jam is 50% strawberries and made in France.

“Lovely bright, vibrant colour. Beautiful clean, fresh strawberry flavour. Not a subtle jam. Love the big strawberry chunks in this one.”

IXL Strawberry Jam

CHOICE Score: 71%
Price per 100g: $0.73
Good to know: It’s 40% strawberries, and is one of just a handful of products in the test that’s made in Australia.

“Glossy, bright appearance. Lovely sweet, strawberry aroma. Nice sweet, strawberry flavour. Slightly acidic.”

Rose’s Strawberry Conserve

CHOICE Score: 70%
Price per 100g: $0.77
Good to know: With 54% strawberries, this jam from New Zealand has the highest fruit content of all the jams in our test.

“Glossy and jelly-like, with a natural-looking appearance. Pleasant strawberry aroma. Lots of fruit evident. A nice chunky jam that feels homemade.”

Worst Strawberry Jam

Aldi Grandessa Strawberry Conserve

CHOICE score: 36%
Price per 100g: $0.28

“Our judges weren’t too fond of Aldi’s Grandessa Strawberry Conserve, which came in at last place,” says Clemons. “The texture of this jam was quite grainy, and it had quite an artificial smell and flavour.”

Full results:

Beerenberg Australian Strawberry Jam – 75%

Aldi Grandessa Signature Strawberry Premium Jam – 74%

Woolworths Essentials Strawberry Jam – 74%

Bonne Maman Strawberry Conserve – 71%

IXL Strawberry Jam – 71%

Rose’s Strawberry Conserve – 70%

Woolworths Macro Certified Organic Strawberry Spread – 68%

Woolworths Strawberry Jam – 66%

Coles Strawberry Jam – 62%

St Dalfour Strawberry Spread – 61%

Barker’s Strawberry Jam – 60%

Cottee’s Strawberry Jam – 58%

Coles Strawberry Spread – 56%

IXL Strawberry 50% Less Sugar – 41%

Natvia 95% Less Sugar Strawberry Fruit Spread – 41%

Aldi Grandessa Strawberry Conserve – 36%

Where is your jam made?

Just five of the products in our test were made in Australia:

• Aldi Grandessa Strawberry Conserve.
• Beerenberg Australian Strawberry Jam, both IXL products.
• Natvia’s Fruit Spread.

But just because they’re made in Australia, doesn’t mean they’re made from Australian ingredients. Only two contain a very high proportion of Australian ingredients: Aldi Grandessa at 90% and Beerenberg at 99%. The other three have less than 60% Australian ingredients.

So where else does your jam come from?

Aldi’s premium Grandessa Signature jam is made in Belgium, as are all three of Woolworths’s products.
Barker’s, Cottee’s and Rose’s are made in New Zealand.
Coles products are made in Poland.
Bonne Maman and St Dalfour are made in France.

Do you agree with the results? What do you think is the worst and best strawberry jam? Tell us in the comments below.