A Low-Sugar Jam That Tastes Like What It Should and That's FRUIT

Forget our alarms—breakfast is what really gets us out of bed in the morning. Still, it's not all chia puddings and green smoothies. We're decidedly still obsessed with toast, and no, we're not just talking about tomatoes. Jam on toast is a classic for a reason (it's delicious, duh), but most spreads are so sweet it's impossible to taste the actual fruit beneath all that sugar. Luckily a local company is spreading the gospel of actually fruity preserves: Trade Street Jam Co.

The Brooklyn-based company specializes in small-batch, low-sugar jams that give fruit the spotlight. Trade Street Jam Co.'s smoked yellow peach jam tastes like peak-season peaches at a summer cookout—downwind of the barbecue, bathed in sunshine, still warm and ready to burst. Spicy kiwi vanilla is shockingly green and studded with black kiwi seeds, and plum and rose is pleasantly floral without tasting like potpourri. And founder Ashley Sneed says she has over 200 flavors waiting on an endlessly updated Google Doc.

Trade Street Jam Co. began three years ago out of Sneed's apartment on Trade Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. After she went to culinary school, Sneed worked at as a chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte, where her coworkers would organize food swaps to trade home-cooked meals and geek out about farm fresh produce. Sneed began bringing in jam and other preserves to trade for pickles and collard green dip, and her passion for jam soon grew into a bonafide business. She set high standards from the start: no pectin, no preservatives, and as little sugar as possible.

“I always just tell our customers, "You're not buying sugar; you're buying fruit,” says Sneed. Low-sugar jam isn’t just fruit-forward—it’s looser in consistency and therefore easier to incorporate into cooking. And while her strawberry chipotle and fig jam is excellent on a toasted English muffin with a smear of butter, Sneed believes it truly shines as a culinary ingredient. “Our whole mission is to introduce the world to a concept bigger than jam on toast,” she says. “It’s all about education.” She recommends using jams to amp up grilled cheese, top homemade pizza, and even glaze roasted meats. Plus they make a mean PB&J.

Sneed has become something of a jam evangelist, spreading the gospel of jam-laced Old Fashioneds and jam-spiked vinaigrettes. Her most devout customers have taken matters into their own hands: One longtime supporter has even incorporated Trade Street Jam Co.'s smoked peach jam into his family’s longstanding meatloaf recipe—and emails Sneed in a panic if they’re out of stock online. “We all have these recipes that our parents taught us, and it doesn't necessarily mean they're good, but you love them and they mean something to you,” says Sneed. “When you can revamp it and put your own culinary twist on it, that's really cool.”

In addition to their five fruit jams, Trade Street Jam Co. sells a dried fruit scone mix and a new seasonal offering: Chinese five-spice apple butter. It's the perfect pairing for spooning over whole grain porridge on cozy fall mornings—and it's seasonal without feeling forced. Pumpkin spice better watch its back.

Buy Trade Street Jam Co. jams online or on Amazon.

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Put that jam in a sandwich:

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