Most of the time I am a “gut feel” decision maker, especially in non-critical matters of taste. From time to time it is worth the pain and effort to go through some research to see if my gut is in need of recalibration. My question of the moment concerns my marmalade selection for weekend breakfast.

Working from left to right I’ll introduce the contestants:

Wilkin & Sons Tawny marmalade is a favourite of a close friend of mine, and I respect his opinion about important things. Until recently I hadn’t seen it in a store, and was pleasantly surprised to see it when we explored the main Pusateri’s store while looking for new light fittings at Royal Lighting.

This has an extremely short list of ingredients: sugar and oranges. It has a deep orange colour with long juicy strips of rind which still have a little resistance when you bite into them, there is a slight sour finish to the rind which adds interest. This has a lingering aftertone which is a delight even when you have swallowed the marmalade. Overall it is fruity with a woody, mossy, deep flavour, but not too sweet.

Next up is Rose’s Lemon and Lime fine cut marmalade.

Some time last year we picked up some Roses lime marmalade and some lemon and lime marmalade as an experiment to see how other citrus fruits would do when marmaladed. The lemon and lime marmalade had a fuller and more interesting flavour than the lime alone, so that’s the one we eat when we can find it.

The colour of the marmalade and the jar are very attractive, the fine shreds of rind are suspended in an organic green jelly.

The ingredients list is a little longer than the Tawny marmalade: glucose-fructose syrup, lemons (10%), limes (10%), sugar, gelling agent: pectin, citric acid, acidity regulator: sodium citrates, colours: copper complexes of chlorophyllins, lutein.

The marmalade is light, refreshing, and smooth; a pleasant contrast to the orange marmalade. The dominant flavour is lime with a hint of lemon. More citrus flavour than the Tawny but less than the Robertsons. The lime flavour is light and dances on your tongue.

Finally there’s the Robertsons Seville Orange Marmalade. We discovered this after eating the normal Robertsons marmalade for some time.

The ingredients are: glucose-fructose, sugar, oranges, fruit pectin, sodium citrate, citric acid. This has a finer cut rind than the Tawny marmalade, and the rind still has some bite to it. More refreshing and tangier than the Tawny marmalade, it has a little citrus effervescence.

So which one should I pick for my breakfast? The Tawny has a jammy texture, the others two are a little smoother. The Tawny doesn’t cut the sugar with additional citric acid, so the subtleties of the orange flavour aren’t overwhelmed. If I want the whole orange experience then the Tawny is the one I’d go for. If I want a little zest then the Roses or the Robertsons call out. If I want a change from orange then the Roses is the clear winner. As a pragmatist I should have more than one slice of toast on a weekend morning, and feel free to mix and match my marmalades as they all have their distinct charms.

I have to thank my wife for helping with this research, and we’ll be on the lookout for other marmalades of class to sample and enjoy in the future.