Jam on!

Let me get the facts straight: I'm not a consummate cook or a connoisseur of wines, but I do know how to appreciate the various delicacies or special foods that a regular income can buy.

That's why I' have this crush, as it were, on a particular brand of English hand-made marmalades and jams called "Thursday Cottage". Based in Essex, a small, independent firm has tirelessly been pumping out incomparable marmalades and jams for well over a century. The best thing about them, apart from the incredible aromas and tastes, is the fact that they are made virtually without any preservatives and artificial flavourings or colour.

Yes, they're pricy when compared to other brands, particularly here in Norway where "Thursday Cottage" jams and marmalades are sold through very few outlets, but to me they're a relative luxury that I regularly indulge myself. I don't eat the "Thursday Cottage" pink grapefruit marmalade e.g. because this small firm is internationally regarded as the Louis Vuitton of jam producers, but simply because I find their products irresistibly palatable. They're so yummy I'd rather not contemplate a Saturday morning breakfast without them.

I usually get to eat them all by myself, which is quite a mystery to me. Why can't my kids and my wife realize the superior quality of English hand-made jams and marmalades? Well, I'm hopeful that they'll make the same discovery some time in the future that I made five or six years back: there's absolutely nothing like a slice of toast with a thick, savory layer of "Thursday Cottage" on top.