Jams & Spreads

Fruit preserves slow-cooked in copper cauldrons, bitter citrus marmalades, praliné spreads, chestnut creams, small-producer honeys, apple butters, jellies… The jams and spreads category at G. Detou brings together everything you love on a morning slice of toast or nestled in a warm brioche. Since 1951, at 58 rue Tiquetonne, we've sought out the confituriers and confiseurs who still do things the old-fashioned way: minimal added sugar, generous fruit, slow cooking.

The industry tends to drag preserves downmarket: 50% fruit minimum as required by law, but often just the bare minimum, with added pectins, artificial flavorings, and low-grade frozen fruit. Here, we select instead the producers who push to 60–70% fruit content, work in small-batch cooking, and put their name on the jar.

How to choose the right artisan jam or spread

A few benchmarks that set a great jam apart from a mediocre one:

• Fruit content: 50% is the French legal minimum for "confiture"; 65%+ for "extra"; above 70%, you're in premium artisan territory
• Short ingredient list: fruit, sugar, lemon juice, possibly pectin — full stop
• Copper-cauldron cooking: a sign of slow, traditional cooking that preserves the full flavor of the fruit
• Specific variety: "Bergeron apricot jam" is always better than a generic "apricot jam"
• Traceable origin: a producer or cooperative you can actually name

For chocolate spreads, the number-one criterion is hazelnut content. An industrial spread often tops out at 13% hazelnuts versus 50% sugar and a heavy dose of palm oil. Genuine artisan spreads reach 30–50% hazelnuts (ideally from Piedmont), 20–30% sugar, and zero palm oil.

Our selection at G. Detou

Here's what you'll find in store.

Classic jams: apricot, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, plum, mirabelle, blackcurrant, rhubarb, bitter orange, lemon. We favor family-run producers (Christine Ferber, Bonne Maman for accessible everyday classics, independent confituriers for rarer references).

Citrus marmalades: bitter orange (the celebrated British-style marmalade), lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, kumquat. Perfect on buttered toast at an English-style breakfast.

Original preserves: green tomato, fig-walnut, chestnut-vanilla, apple-quince-cinnamon, strawberry-basil, apricot-rosemary. Ideal alongside a cheese board or a seared foie gras.

Jellies: quince jelly, red currant jelly, blackberry jelly, apple jelly. Quince jelly remains an essential pairing with fresh goat cheese.

Spreads: hazelnut praliné spread (our own recipe, guaranteed palm-oil-free, hazelnut-rich), chocolate-hazelnut spread, speculoos paste, white chocolate spread, pistachio cream (rare and precious).

Creams and fruit purées: AOP chestnut cream from Ardèche, châtaigne cream, traditional English lemon curd, Argentinian dulce de leche, caramelized onion confit.

Honeys: acacia honey, chestnut honey, lavender honey, wildflower honey, manuka honey, Vosges silver fir honey. All from identified beekeepers.

On the premium spreads side, we also stock references from the professional pastry world: the Valrhona 70% dark chocolate praliné spread, the Barry chocolate spread range in foodservice formats, and the Weiss gianduja spread — a historically French classic. These references are especially popular with hotels and restaurants looking to serve a breakfast that truly stands out.

Uses and pairings

Beyond the morning slice of toast, jams and spreads have a genuine role to play in cooking and pastry-making.

In pastry: apricot jam for tart glazes, quince jelly in shortbread cookies, raspberry jam as a base layer in tartlets, chestnut cream for Mont-Blanc and autumn Yule logs, lemon curd for classic lemon meringue tarts.

In savory cooking: quince jelly with a 24-month aged Comté, caramelized onion confit with seared foie gras, fig-walnut jam with a Basque sheep's milk cheese, bitter orange marmalade in a revisited duck à l'orange.

For cheese and jam pairings:

• Fresh goat cheese + fig jam
• Comté + quince jelly
• Roquefort + chestnut honey
• Pyrenean sheep's milk cheese + Itxassou black cherry jam
• Brie de Meaux + mango chutney

For brunches, a homemade brioche and three or four small-producer jams are worth more than any frozen pastry in the world.

Storage and best use

A few simple rules:

• Before opening: most jams and spreads keep for 2 to 3 years at room temperature, in a cool, dry cupboard
• After opening: refrigerate and consume within a month for jams, within 2–3 weeks for chocolate spreads
• Use a clean spoon each time to avoid contamination
• Surface mold: on a homemade jam with 60%+ sugar content, you can remove the affected layer and consume the rest; on a less-sweet artisan jam, discard it as a precaution
• Sugar crystallization: a brief warm bain-marie will dissolve it right back

As for honeys, they don't truly "expire" but will crystallize over time. A crystallized honey is absolutely just as good; to re-liquefy it, place the jar in a bain-marie at a maximum of 35 °C (any higher and you'll degrade the enzymes).

G. Detou heritage and expertise

Since 1951, G. Detou has always had a jam corner that serves as a landmark for regulars. In the early days, it was mainly local preserves from Île-de-France and Anjou; today, we work with some thirty identified confituriers and beekeepers, often met in person at trade fairs or directly at their farms. The AOP chestnut cream from Ardèche, for example, comes from a cooperative we've known for over twenty years.

Our store at 58 rue Tiquetonne is one of those places where you can still ask for advice on which jam to choose for which use. If you're torn between three bitter orange marmalades, we'll let you taste all three. That's also why we keep, despite the shelf space it takes up, niche jams like chestnut-vanilla or green tomato.

FAQ — Jams and spreads

What is the difference between jam, marmalade, and jelly?

Jam is made from whole or chopped fruit cooked in sugar. Marmalade, in France, traditionally refers to a finely blended jam (though in English, it specifically denotes citrus preserves). Jelly is made from strained fruit juice, with no pieces of fruit.

Which palm-oil-free spread do you recommend?

Our own house praliné spread, made from Piedmont hazelnuts and completely palm-oil-free, remains our best-seller. Several independent brands on our shelves also offer excellent alternatives.

Is an artisan jam healthier than an industrial one?

Not necessarily "healthier" in a caloric sense, but it contains more fruit, fewer additives (industrial pectin, flavorings), and generally better-quality sugar. The difference is felt above all in the taste.

How long does a jam keep after opening?

4 to 6 weeks in the refrigerator, in its sealed jar, using a clean spoon each time.

Why isn't my homemade jam setting?

Insufficient pectin (some fruits like strawberries naturally contain very little), not enough sugar, or too short a cooking time. To fix it: add a little lemon juice plus some NH pectin, or continue cooking until the jam reaches 105 °C.

Which jam should I serve with a cheese board?

Quince jelly for pressed-curd cheeses (comté, beaufort), fig jam for fresh goat cheeses, black cherry jam from Itxassou for Basque sheep's milk cheeses, chestnut honey for blue cheeses.

Do you sell restaurant-size jars?

Yes, several products are available in 1 kg jars or 3–5 kg tubs for hotels, restaurants, and caterers. For professional pricing, register on our Pro Access page.

Is crystallized honey lower quality?

Not at all — it's actually a sign of quality (pasteurized honey no longer crystallizes, but has lost much of its enzymes). Simply warm it in a bain-marie at 35 °C (95 °F) to liquefy it if needed.

Our top unique jams to try

If you're looking to venture beyond the classics, here are five jams our customers keep coming back for:

• Fig and walnut jam: the perfect companion to a Basque sheep's milk cheese or an aged comté
• Chestnut and vanilla jam: spread on warm brioche, it's autumn on a plate
• Green tomato jam: surprisingly delightful with fresh goat cheese, or even on a slice of sourdough bread with salted butter
• Black cherry jam from Itxassou: the traditional jam that accompanies Basque sheep's milk cheese (Ardi Gasna)
• British bitter orange marmalade: nothing beats it on buttered toast at an English breakfast

These unique jams make excellent gourmet gifts when you're looking for something more personal than a standard box of chocolates.

Going further

Jams and spreads open the door to the whole world of breakfast and afternoon snacking. Be sure to explore the Dried fruits & snacking category to round out your table. And of course, come visit us in store — in Paris or in Lyon — to browse the full selection. 😉