It’s that time of year when village fairs come into their own. We had a choice between Peasedown St John and Timsbury. We chose the latter because we’ve been to the other ones three times and although it is well organised the vibe of the event is not to our taste as was the food on offer.

The Timsbury version was arranged outside on the football field adjacent to the local Village and there was a splendid mixture of tents and marquees

offering entertainment for children, a dog show, local charities, local small trades, a pizza stand, a hamburger stand, and if you want to go inside the Hall itself there were as ever varied and delightful homemade cakes, tea and coffee.

We supported the Radford Mill Organic Farm by buying some very nice carrots and beetroot but then I came across another stand called the Somerset preserving company run solo by Dr Helen  (left). 

Francoise and Dr. Helen engaged in a lively conversation for about 15 minutes. During the conversation I realised that I had taken homemade jams and preserves for granted and I had not inquired too much about what effort and understanding goes into making these products and why we should consider them, compared with the often cheaper jams available in the local supermarket.

I’m publishing this  conversation in some detail hopefully to encourage people who are thinking of starting a career in nutrition to see what an important part of life correct nutrition is. We have three brains, the one in our  head, the one in our hearts, and the one in our gut. This may seem strange talk but please do your own research. Gut health is just as important as mental health

The key difference between jam and marmalade is the fruit used and texture:

• Jam is made from crushed or pureed fruit and sugar, creating a smooth, spreadable consistency. It can be made from berries, peaches, or almost any fruit.
• Marmalade is made from citrus fruit, particularly oranges, and includes rind or peel, giving it a more textured, slightly bitter taste.

Essentially, jam is sweet and smooth, while marmalade is tangy with citrus peel. Do you have a favorite?

Dr Helen lives in Somerset and started to make jams three years ago. She makes marmalade the old fashioned way; the process takes two days. She buys fruit from a company in the UK who freezes the food so she can make jams all the year round.

There is an organization called crowd farming including suppliers from Spain, Italy and France enabling you to order organic food  directly from them and avoid the cuts imposed by the supermarkets. In a previous life she was an advisor to the animal food industry. She advised for example how you could put healthy organic probiotics into the newborn lambs.

Dr. Helen was kind enough to tell us something of her work and her career:

In the case of marmalade the process should take two days by the old-fashioned method. You need to soak the pith and the peel overnight in order to extract the Pectin which is water soluble. That helps in the setting process. So if you soak it overnight, cook it and then add the sugar that makes the setting better. 

The factories save time by adding a lot of jelling agents including gum. Extracting the Pectin properly means you don’t have to boil it so long and you retain more of the flavour and the colour in other words you preserve the nutritional value.

You can make reduced sugar jam but actually the sugar is a very important part as a preserving agent as well and to call it a jam you have to have a certain level of sugar. With reduced sugar content you have to boil it for longer to get it to set;  you oxidise it and it is not as wholesome.

Her policy is to have a small amount of something that is really good. Just enjoy it and make it part of your balanced diet. You don’t have to have loads of it.

Pure Honey

There is a campaign among some people to produce pure honey which is unadulterated. As we have probably seen in the press ‘honey’ is produced from additives such as sugar syrup particularly when it comes into the country from abroad to be sold in supermarkets.

With honey, bees can get grumpy when the weather is not suitable and there’s not enough for them to eat as was the case in 2024 and they need to be fed on different sugars to keep them from becoming grumpy

What started you on this?

I got my doctorate from the University of Edinburgh where the topic was fibre digestion and i was using pigs, I was feeding fiber to pigs,  who’s guts are very similar to humans. At a certain weight, their gut is a good model for human digestion.

 In the 80s we were just beginning to understand the importance of fibre in human diet as well as in the animals.  I was looking at the efficiency of utilization of the energies produced by the fermentation of fiber compared to feeding maize –  starch energy We feed a lot of cereals to animals so I tried to work out how much fibre we can feed them because it would be better to grow protein – pig meat – using things like sugar beet which humans can’t eat

I did three years looking at the amount of utilisation of fiber and the impact it has on the gut of pigs and came up with some nice data. I was part sponsored by an animal feed company and part sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture

I graduated as an animal nutritionist in 1988 and have worked in the field ever since. Over the years, I’ve traveled worldwide, advising on optimal animal feeding and gut health, focusing on alternatives to antibiotics, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and essential oils for digestion and immunity.

My work took me across Europe, the U.S., and Dubai, where I visited dairy farms, including one managing 14,000 cows. In Dubai, farms import alfalfa from Sudan and recycle water efficiently, adapting well to the climate. Due to cultural customs, vitamin D is added to milk to compensate for reduced sun exposure.

Currently, I consult on animal nutrition, working with American and Northern Irish clients. Some projects involve problem-solving for specific cases. While this pays the bills, I also have a deep interest in food preservation, inspired by my move to the countryside. I love making elderberry cordial, chutneys, and jams, embracing a simple approach to food.

Beyond nutrition, I enjoy crafting and traditional skills. I’ve participated in agricultural shows, encouraging people to embrace baking and handmade goods. These skills are important—if there’s no shop selling cake, could you make one yourself?

Video of the day – Civil War is Coming Prof. David Betz. with Andrew Gold of the Heretics platform. An amazing 4,916 comments as of 14 June 2025  326k views over the last 2 days

and another similar one, only world-wide “Negotiation”? No! This Is a BLOOD-SOAKED ULTIMATUM from the U.S. and Israel