Smucker’s Natural Fruit Spreads – More Fruit, Less Sugar
When it comes to jams, preserves and fruit spreads, we always look for labels that list fruit first before sugar. By their very nature these condiments will be sweet enough and we like more of the fruit flavor to enjoy.
That said, since we are eating low FODMAP we have to steer clear of fruit-juice sweetened jams as they often contain high FODMAP ingredients like apple or pear juice or use high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
We have become huge fans of Smucker’s Natural Fruit Spreads at the Test Kitchen, so we wanted to share the love. If you are familiar with the Smucker’s brand, you know that their motto is, “With a Name Like Smucker’s, It’s Got To Be Good”.
Kind of funny, kind of memorable. I can still hear the voice-over announcer in my mind from television commercials from long ago. I can’t even remember the first time I heard it. I spent summers at my Nana’s in South Dartmouth, MA and she made me cream cheese and jelly sandwiches for lunch almost everyday, always with Smucker’s raspberry jam.
There are brands that have been with us since childhood and when I was first told that I had to eat low FODMAP one of my first thoughts was, what can I continue to eat? And part of that question was aimed at prepared and packaged foods.
Some Jam is Low FODMAP
With a convenient tool like the Monash University Smartphone App it is very easy to see that strawberries can be enjoyed. They are a Green Light food and no FODMAPs have been detected in them.
But what about strawberry jam? It too is actually listed in the app in amounts of 2 Australian tablespoons (40 g), but what about actually going to the supermarket and choosing the right jam product?
Read Those Labels
If you are a label reader you probably know that the jellies and jams in the supermarket are often packed with ingredients that we do not want, particularly HFCS (high fructose corn syrup).
It has long been an ingredient that we wanted to steer clear of, even before this diet, but it is particularly troublesome for FODMAPers. And many years ago we converted to looking for jams that list fruit first on the label.
Smucker’s Natural Fruit Spreads
Enter Smucker’s Natural Fruit Spreads. This line of fruit spreads not only uses pure sugar (low FODMAP) to sweeten, with no HFCS in site, but fruit is the first ingredient!
These are completely low FODMAP compliant and we absolutely love them. Here are some features:
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- Clean ingredients
- Easy to find
- Not too pricey
- Great texture and flavor
- No GMOs
- No preservatives
- Low FODMAP ingredients
- Comes in many low FODMAP flavors: Strawberry and Orange Marmalade and also Concord Grape and Raspberry, which you might like to try (more on this below)
- The Strawberry and Raspberry are also available in a squeeze bottle with the same ingredients (see image below). Nothing extra is added to make them squeezable – they’re great for kids!
By the way, you might be wondering why it is called a “fruit spread” and not a jam or preserve. That’s because, in one of those crazy FDA rules, in order to be a jam the product would have to contain more sugar! So don’t be put off by the wording; it’s a good thing.
Our Take on Smucker’s Natural Fruit Spreads
If you are looking for a really tasty fruit spread for your sandwiches, toast or otherwise, we highly recommend this line of jams. We do not recommend the blackberry or cherry or flavors while following a low FODMAP diet. Marmalade and strawberry jams are listed as approved by Monash in 2 Australian tablespoon (40 g) amounts and we suggest that you start there.
We have done very well with the grape and raspberry flavors as well. As always, listen to your dietitian and your body, but you might want to consider trying these flavors.
Check out these recipes featuring this product: FODMAP IT!™ PB & J Cream Cheese Brownies, English Muffins with Cream Cheese, Jam & Bacon, our Low FODMAP Gluten-Free Rugelach, and our Low FODMAP Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies.
Where to Buy: Currently available through Amazon and other outlets
Price at Time of Review: Average retail price around $3.
Have you tried this product? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Hello. I am currently on a low fodmap diet, and I’ve been looking for a strawberry jam for forever now. I see that the Smucker’s jam you discuss has fruit pectin. Is this different than pectin? And if it’s not, how is it low fodmap?
Patton is considered low FODMAP, Even when the source is apple! So even if the label says Apple pectin you are fine. Do stick with small serving sizes as the sugar and the fruit of course will be concentrated. One huge thing to know about the diet is that it is very serving size dependent. We highly recommend that you undertake the diet under the guidance of a trained registered dietitian and The Monash university smart phone app is in valuable and worth every penny. It will be very easy for you to look up serving sizes with that.
Hi, do you think this would be a good filling for your low fodmap hamentashen recipe?
They can work, but the result will be very sweet. If you like hamantaschen with sweet jam-like fillings, then it will be right up your alley. Make sure any jam is very thick as it tends to thin out upon heating.
Thanks!! Any recommendations on how to thicken it up?
Some flavors are looser than others. Any which way you could try cooking down first to thicken – and of course cool thoroughly.
In the UK, JAM is not made with sugar but CONSERVE is made with sugar. Thus, strawberry conserve and other allowed fruit conserves should be fine to eat. YET, I found this out by chance as nowhere on Monash nor other sites I’ve visited have this information. There’s a lot of help I could do with here in the UK. The Monash app is very lacking in the Uk.
Hi June. Sugar is not a FODMAP issue. I am a bit confused by your statement. Plenty of English cookbooks and recipes make jam with sugar. The issue with a higher fruit, lower fruit spread (jam/preserve/conserve) would be that the fruit, which might be a FODMAP issue, would be in higher concentrations and therefore could be a problem. You could write to Monash to ask them to test more products; they say that they take requests (although nothing is quick, FYI).