“Crafted in the French village of Biars, Bonne Maman – which translates to grandmother in French – embodies the tenderness and generosity of home cooking, bringing alive the sweet emotion of long forgotten childhood memories. Prepared using old fashioned methods and all natural ingredients, Bonne Maman is made with only the highest quality fruit. Each piece has been hand picked at their peak of ripeness and preserved naturally to achieve intense flavour and lasting freshness. “

When you think jam, you might only think “oh that’s the stuff I spread on my toast or croissants”. And whilst jam is fantastic to lather on carbs any time of day, there is so much more you can do with it! You can mix it with icecream or yoghurt, use it in cakes, or even make a nice sauce to accompany your favourite cut of meat.

But there are a lot of jams to choose from these days. Many with empty promises of real fruit, and less sugar. Bonne Maman consists of more than 50% real fruit, and each conserve features tasty fruit chunks for juicy sweetness and a lovely texture that comes with home made jam. The best part? Bonne Maman is free from those nasty preservatives, artificial colours and flavourings. Instead there are just four simple ingredients: pure fruit, natural sugar, lemon juice and fruit pectin. The fruit and sugar are mixed gently together until the perfect consistency is reached, then slow cooked to perfection. It is then packed into the stylish French facetted jar, which you all probably know from it’s famous red and white gingham lid. All of this combined with the distinctive handwritten logo, have made Bonne Maman the most sought after conserves on any table.

Served on freshly made, light fluffy scones and topped with moderate lashing of cream, Bonne Maman raspberry conserve really came alive. It was like I had spread liquid raspberries on top of my freshly made scones.

Whilst I had been sent some recipes with the jam, including adorable individual cheesecakes, I couldn’t bring myself to eat more cheesecake this month than I already have. So I went looking for different options and found a pancake recipe on the US Bonne Maman website.

Pancake recipe required extra milk as it was quite thick. After making these I realised my stove should have been cooking them on a medium heat, I seem to always use a high heat and wonder why they burn.
Hamsley doesn’t eat oranges on their own, but exclaimed “well this is one way to get me to eat oranges!” He even requested more the next day! I’ll admit, I wanted some more too, so perhaps I’ll be making them again sooner rather than later.
I loved the idea of putting jam in the pancake mixture for more flavour.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Orange Compote

For the compote:
3 large oranges
2 tablespoons Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade

For the pancake batter:
4 tablespoons melted butter, plus a little extra for the pan
½ cup buttermilk or whole milk
2 large eggs
¼ cup superfine sugar
Pinch of salt
1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons Bonne Maman Orange Marmalade

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Makes 12 pancakes

1. Cut all the peel and pith away from 2 of the oranges and cut into neat segments. Drop into a small saucepan with the marmalade. Add the pared rind from the remaining orange, cut into long fine shreds, plus the juice. Put the pan over a low heat and simmer very gently for 2-3 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whisk the melted butter into the milk with the eggs, sugar and salt.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and pour in the liquid ingredients. Whisk until completely smooth.

4. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan and brush with a little melted butter. Using a small ladle or a large basting spoon, spoon the batter into the pan, allowing one ladle per pancake. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Small bubbles will appear on the surface of the pancakes when they are ready to flip over.

5. Stir the marmalade until smooth then drizzle 1 teaspoon over the uncooked side of each pancake before turning. Continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes before removing from the pan. Cover the cooked pancakes with a towel; this will prevent them from drying out.
Serve the pancakes in small stacks with 1 or 2 spoonfuls of compote on top.

More recipes can be found at: www.bonnemaman.us

There are twelve amazing conserves available in 370g jars, retailing at $4.99 (AUD). Other flavours on offer include classics like Strawberry, Apricot, Fig and Damson Plum.

Bonne Maman is available in leading independent supermarkets nationally and from September in selected Coles stores throughout Australia.
For further information visit www.menora.com.au.

Iron Chef Shellie tried Bonne Maman jam compliments of 360° Focus.