Description: Packed with the sweetest most plump fruit, find out how Extra Special Conserve goes from field to jar.

<p>Combining traditional techniques with scientific precision, Diane Anderson and her team have turned jam-making into an art form – creating an Extra Special range that’s packed with flavour, fruit, and joy.</p>
<p>The best plump, lush fruits are gathered from the harvesting farm and made into <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/search/extra%20special%20conserve?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special Conserve</a>.</p>
<p>‘Glossy, thick and laden with whole fruits, the jams are rich in colour and taste’.</p>
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<img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/231004-strawberries-close-up_GL?scl=1" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>
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<p>Slathered on toast, swirled into porridge, oozing from doughnuts – what’s your favourite way to eat jam? Perhaps you can’t resist it squished between Victoria sponge cakes, or dolloped decadently on all-butter scones? For Diane Anderson, who devised the recipes for Asda’s Extra Special Conserve range, there’s no perfect way to savour jam’s joys: the more the merrier, as far as she’s concerned. ‘My fridge is full of jars,’ she laughs. ‘Jam is an amazing ingredient, so versatile. I could eat it every day in some form or another, and I never get tired of it.’</p>
<p>But Diane is no ordinary jam-lover. As Senior Development Technologist at R&amp;W Scott – the small, specialist producer of Asda Extra Special jams and marmalades – she and her expert team created Asda’s premium strawberry, raspberry, morello cherry, apricot and blackcurrant preserves. ‘It took six months and countless taste tests,’ she reminisces, ‘from the perfect raspberry variety to the ideal texture, sweetness, and colour. With each prototype batch, we packed the jars into a suitcase and travelled from our test kitchen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, to Asda’s HQ in Leeds for tastings before, eventually, we had the recipes.’</p>
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<a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-apricot-conserve/1000358033652?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank"><img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/5057172824557_T1"></a>
<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-apricot-conserve/1000358033652?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special Apricot Conserve</a></h3>
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<a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-morello-cherry-conserve/1000358033645?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank"><img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/5057172824571_T1"></a>
<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-morello-cherry-conserve/1000358033645?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special Morello Cherry Conserve</a></h3>
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<a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-strawberry-conserve/1000358033581?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank"><img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/5057172824533_T1"></a>
<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-strawberry-conserve/1000358033581?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special Strawberry Conserve</a></h3>
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<a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-blackcurrant-conserve/1000358033643?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank"><img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/5057172824564_T1"></a>
<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-blackcurrant-conserve/1000358033643?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special Blackcurrant Conserve</a></h3>
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<a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-raspberry-conserve/1000358033625?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank"><img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/5057172824540_T1"></a>
<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-raspberry-conserve/1000358033625?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special Raspberry Conserve</a></h3>
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<h2>Fabulously flavourful fruit</h2>
<p>Dip your spoon into a jar of Extra Special conserve and it’s easy to see why it deserves its label: glossy, thick, and laden with whole fruits, the jams are as rich in colour as they are in taste. ‘It’s all about taking the finest fruit, and preserving its best aspects,’ says Diane, who joined R&amp;W Scott in 2017, just before the Extra Special project began. As a graduate of Food Science and Nutrition in 2000, her scientific expertise matches her passion for food, and she speaks eloquently about everything from jam pectin to pH levels (‘the correct acidity is essential’). ‘We even have techniques to ensure an even distribution of whole fruits in the jar,’ she explains, ‘so that everyone can enjoy them.’</p>
<p>As we enter the factory, the air is sweet with the fragrance of strawberries, a waft that can reach as far as the nearby town of Carluke. ‘Everyone always knows which jam we’re running,’ says Clare McNeil, R&amp;W Scott’s Commercial Director, who loves to fling open her office window to inhale the scent. The plump, ruby-red fruits have just arrived, and are piled high – all quality-checked, cleaned, and ready for the cooking process. ‘This is my favourite part,’ says Clare. ‘The vibrant colour, the smells…’</p>
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<img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/231004-strawberries-with-sugar_GL?scl=1" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>
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<p>For anyone who’s made jam in their own kitchen, the production process is familiar– except on a far bigger scale. R&amp;W Scott’s custom-built kit can produce 800kg of jam per hour – around 2,350 jars-worth – but its method embodies jam-making’s time-honoured, treasured techniques. As the process begins, fruit is combined with sugar, lemon juice, citric acid and a little pectin to help it set, with the help of some nifty technology along the way. ‘We use a vacuum cooker. This boils off the water at a lower temperature than I could use when making jam at home,’ says Diane. ‘It preserves the colour, giving such a naturally vibrant hue to the jam.’</p>
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<h2>The magic of ritual</h2>
<p>Remember the ‘wrinkle test’? It’s a technique handed down between generations of jam makers to determine the set (firmness) of their handiwork. You spoon a little hot jam onto a cold plate and run your finger through the syrup: if it’s wrinkly, not runny, it’s ready to jar up. ‘We don’t have a giant plate waiting in the freezer,’ laughs Diane. ‘We use a refractometer, which monitors the amount of sugar in a single drop. And to measure the acidity, we use a pH meter.&nbsp;</p>
<p>It’s all key to the quality of the jam.’ But other than these necessary tweaks, the process is true to tradition – even down to the friendly, closeknit atmosphere of the factory, which mirrors the sociable ritual of domestic jam-making. Rooted in the Clyde Valley, R&amp;W Scott is a pillar of the local community, and its extensive charitable work includes supporting food banks, schools, and a cancer care trust. A proud Living Wage and Living Hours employer, it has 96 staff – Violet (pictured) has worked there for 40 years.</p>
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<p>The company’s history stretches back to 1873, when brothers Robert and William Scott first planted half an acre of strawberries in the Clyde Valley. ‘The rich, fertile soil yielded bumper crops of fruit, and jam-making was an obvious choice,’ explains Clare. The repertoire grew to include chocolate products, and the business remained family-run through five generations, before it was acquired in 2005. By then, the area had long become known for its fruit fields, with pick-your-own farms. ‘I remember coming here when I was 10,’ says Diane. ‘My family drove over from Strathaven to gather strawberries and raspberries, though I’m pretty sure I ate as many as I picked. It’s funny to think I’m here again all these years later. I was drawn back,’ she smiles.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>‘In Scotland, we have a special name for jam and bread – a ‘jeely piece’ – which I enjoyed as a child.’ Was it that, perhaps, that first sparked her love of the sweet stuff? ‘Probably! With one bite now, it takes you back to those family memories. Whether you’re eating, making, or baking with it, jam is often wrapped up in joyful nostalgia – and it’s an honour to be part of those stories.</p>
<img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/231004-person-with-strawberry_GL?scl=1" alt="undefined" style="height: auto;width: auto"/>
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<h2>Feeling inspired by our Tastemakers story?</h2>
<p>Try this <a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/giant-scone-cake?recipe_id=5f43980b-fa56-11ed-86e9-6bebbaba7a93" target="_blank">Giant scone cake recipe</a>, A summery showpiece bake, loaded with a fluffy Chantilly cream, <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/jams-curds/asda-extra-special-strawberry-conserve/1000358033581?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="blank">Asda Extra Special Conserve</a> and studded with fresh strawberries.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/giant-scone-cake?recipe_id=5f43980b-fa56-11ed-86e9-6bebbaba7a93" target="_blank"><strong>Giant Scone Cake</strong></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/giant-scone-cake?recipe_id=5f43980b-fa56-11ed-86e9-6bebbaba7a93" target="_blank">View recipe</a></p>
<p><strong>Serves:</strong> 12</p>
<p><strong>Ready in:</strong> 55 min</p>
<p><strong>Price per serving:</strong> £0.43</p>
<p><strong>Recipe info:</strong> Vegetarian</p> 
<p><strong>Faff-factor:</strong> 3 out of 5</p>
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<p>Why not try our scone recipe, inspired by our <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/search/extra%20special%20conserve?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Extra Special Conserve</a> production story, for yourself? Make sure to stock up on everything you need at <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-jam&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda</a> or pop into <a href="https://storelocator.asda.com/" target="_blank">your local store</a>.</p>

Jam - Meet the Tastemakers

By Asda Good Living,3rd July 2023

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