This started out on Facebook, but I wanted to save it here for posterity. I have edited it a little for this format. We are already planning next year. We also are planning on expanding into licorice, cheese, chocolate, the possibilities are endless.
Note: Some days the jams repeated. They have been rated separately. Also, honey was a buzzkill. It really felt like they mailed it in that day. Honey is hard to compare to jam. The two have some overlap, but just aren't the same. What’s next maple syrup? So, instead of including honey in the ranking, I will just review the honey: it's pretty ordinary as far as honey goes. No hints of orange blossom or lavender or any other scent. It is the average honey.
Also, two thoughts: first, strawberry has long been one of the workhorses of the jam-industrial complex. In the early going, strawberry-based jams are not doing that well. Have we been living a lie? Second, Bon Maman is French, France is the world's fourth largest grape producer, yet they don't seem to make any spreads out of grapes (other than currants). What do the French know that we don't or vice versa? Congress should investigate.
The rankings are as follows:
1. Pineapple Yuzu. Pineapple is my favorite fruit. Yuzu? Never tried yuzu, but I bet I would like it. This is the most unique of the Jamvent jams so far.
2. Cherry Elderflower. Cherry dominates and the elderflower softens.
3. Orange Yuzu Grapefruit. Grandmother used to make orange marmalade and I loathed it. This has none of the bitterness just beautiful subtle flavors.
4. Apricot Peach. Apricot and peach in perfect balance.
5. Peach Mint: The peach flavor dominated which surprised me. The mint was subtle and supported the peach.
6. Grapefruit Dragonfruit. This one surprised me. I don't like grapefruit and always thought dragonfruit was like kiwi crossed with styrofoam, but it works as a jam.
7. Cherry Elderflower Redux.
8. Cherry Christmas Spice: Don't ask me how Christmas spice differs from Pumpkin spice, but I guess it does and it works well with cherry.
9. Rhubarb Strawberry. Not bad, but I have had better. Many farmers wives in Missouri can do better.
10. Strawberry Red Currant. Didn't reach its potential.
11. Apricot Bergamot: Apricot is an underrated jam ingredient and is capable of carrying a jam by itself. You can’t taste the bergamot though.
12. Orange Cinnamon: My grandmother's orange marmalade scared me well into adulthood in much the way the Bogard school cooks ruined bologna for me by barbequing it. It's sad because Bon Maman does some wonderful things with orange and jam. I love both flavors, but they don't really work together.
13. Strawberry Verbena: Never tried verbena before. Can't see that it has any discernible flavor. Not bad.
14. White Nectarine Peach Lemon Verbena: Not bad, but all the flavors seem to cancel each other out and leave no discernible flavor.
15. Strawberry Star Anise. Taken individually, I like both of these flavors though I am not sure star anise has a place in jam. In this case, I thought it overpowered the strawberry and just wasn't a good fit.
16. Strawberry Star Anise Redux: Same same.
17. Mirabelle Plum Linden Blossom. A slight tartness.
18. Fig Cardamom. Just not much flavor.
19. Fig Cardamom. Wow, this seemed really familiar.
20. Orange-Mandarin. This was getting close the Orange Marmalade that my grandmother made and I wasn't crazy about.
21. Chestnut Orange Christmas Spice: Not terrible, kind of nutty, the orange is pretty well hidden and I am still not sure what Christmas spice is. It does confirm that Apple Caramel Cinnamon is the worst fucking flavor.
22. Apple Caramel Cinnamon. Someone thought this was a good idea. Doesn't really work as a jam. Another day of Fig Cardamom please.