{"id":2211,"date":"2026-08-06T21:26:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T02:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/?p=2211"},"modified":"2026-08-06T21:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T02:34:15","slug":"confiture-traditionnelle-vs-tartinade-de-fruits-le-sucre-est-il-lennemi-du-gout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/confiture-traditionnelle-vs-tartinade-de-fruits-le-sucre-est-il-lennemi-du-gout\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional Jam vs. Fruit Spread: Is Sugar the Enemy of Flavor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

To sell a jam in Canada, it must contain a minimum of 66% sugar (*). That\u2019s a lot!<\/strong> The terms \u201cMarmalade\u201d and \u201cjelly\u201d are also protected, with minimum sugar content requirements of 65% and 62%, respectively. Europe has less stringent requirements, with a minimum of 60% sugar, and France even less, at 55%<\/a>. To meet Canadian requirements, jams must contain a minimum of 12\u201313 grams of sugar per 1 tablespoon (15 ml).
\nThis is a modern irony<\/strong>, as governments reserve these well-known terms for products that are too sweet and unhealthy<\/strong>, forcing producers of higher-quality products to use the less marketable terms \u201cfruit preparation\u201d or \u201cspread,\u201d as Punch does.
\nOriginally, the high sugar content was necessary for preservation. In large quantities, sugar draws water through osmosis, making it unavailable to microorganisms such as bacteria and yeast, which cannot grow. Jams could remain safe at room temperature\u2014an undeniable advantage before refrigerators became widespread. By using the simple, traditional recipe of half fruit, half sugar, and cooking long enough to evaporate the water, you get a product that keeps for a very long time. But at the expense of taste!<\/strong>
\nIn the 19th century, industrial fraud<\/strong> became widespread, and some unscrupulous producers made jams using water, food coloring, and turnips to thicken them. This was done to replace more expensive ingredients like fruit and sugar<\/strong>. As a result, lawmakers passed legislation mandating minimum amounts of fruit and sugar<\/strong>. The goal of regulating the amount of sugar was less about ensuring its presence than preventing the inclusion of other, less desirable ingredients<\/strong>.
\nToday, sugar is much cheaper than it was in the 19th century, and it is cost-effective<\/strong> to use it as a substitute for fruit. This is somewhat similar to what unscrupulous manufacturers used to do.
\nFortunately<\/strong>, with sterile manufacturing processes and pectins adapted to lower sugar percentages, it is now possible to produce spreads with superior properties<\/strong> to those of jams. That\u2019s exactly what Tartinades Punch does. What\u2019s more, we cook the fruit just enough to destroy pathogens while preserving the vibrant flavor of fresh fruit<\/strong>.
\nMost Punch spreads have a sugar content between 40 and 46%, a range we\u2019ve carefully chosen to achieve the distinctive \u201cPunch flavor\u201d<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

  • Wild Blueberry and Pomegranate<\/strong> : 40% or 6 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n
  • Strawberry and Passion Fruit<\/strong> : 43% or 7 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n
  • Raspberry and Blood Orange<\/strong> : 42% or 6 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n
  • Strawberry and Candied Rhubarb<\/strong> : 41% or 6 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n
  • Lime-Pear-Basil<\/strong> : 46% or 8 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n

    Based on our experience, we have determined that a 40% threshold gives these spreads a shelf life of a few months in the refrigerator. We recently created three spreads for those who would like to lower the sugar intake even more<\/strong> in their diet :<\/p>\n

  • Ground Cherry and Orange<\/strong> : 35% or 4 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n
  • Mango and Orange<\/strong> : 34% or 5 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n
  • Haskap Berry and Grape<\/strong> : 36% or 5 grams of sugar per serving of 15 ml<\/li>\n

    These healthier products will last a few weeks in a fridge<\/strong> once opened. The mango-orange spread, with a sugar content of 34% as measured by a refractometer, contains 48% less sugar than jam: (66\u201334)\/66 = 48%
    \nSince 2026, products such as jams with a sugar content of 10 g or more per 15-ml serving must display on their front label the Health Canada high-sugar warning label<\/strong> because these contain too much sugar<\/strong>. Here is the perfect illustration of this modern irony: the same agency enacts laws with diametrically opposed objectives.
    \nNone<\/strong> of the Punch Spreads products must show this warning. For this we are very proud<\/strong>.
    \n(*) The requirements define soluble dry matter, which consists of the sugars naturally present in the fruit and any added sugars.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Pour vendre une “Confiture” au Canada, elle doit obligatoirement contenir un minimum de 66% de sucre (*). C’est \u00e9norme! Les termes “Marmelade” et “gel\u00e9e” sont \u00e9galement prot\u00e9g\u00e9s, avec des exigences respectives de 65% et 62%. L’Europe est moins exigeante avec un minimum de 60% de sucre, et la France encore moins avec 55%. Pour respecter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":2,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bonne-maman-avec-loupe.avif","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2211"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2215,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2211\/revisions\/2215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tartinadespunch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}