Jammie Dodgers Raspberry: The Original Explained

Every other Jammie Dodger flavour is a variation on this one. Sweet red jam, soft shortcake and the heart in the lid have kept their place because the balance works with the plainest cup of tea in the house.

Named after a comic-strip rascal

The biscuit takes its name from Roger the Dodger of the Beano, and it has been baked at Llantarnam in Wales since 1960, where the brand says around 2.2 million Jammie Dodgers are made every day. It now belongs to Fox's Burton's Companies, formed when Burton's Biscuits and Fox's Biscuits merged in 2022, and by the brand's own reckoning it is the UK's number one jam biscuit.

The build is simple. Two rounds of shortcake hold a disc of jam, and a heart cut through the top round shows off the filling. That window has a practical side, letting steam out during baking so the lid bakes flat over a wet centre, and a less obvious one: a small child can pick the biscuit out from the far side of a room.

What goes into the original

The published ingredient list starts with wheat flour, then raspberry flavour apple jam at 27 per cent of the biscuit. The jam is built on apple, sweetened with glucose-fructose syrup and sugar and coloured with anthocyanins and annatto, and raspberries themselves are not listed, so the raspberry character comes from flavourings. The shortcake side of the list adds palm and rapeseed oils, sugar, partially inverted sugar syrup, raising agents and salt.

On the raspberry pack the brand states that the biscuits are suitable for vegans and made without artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners and without hydrogenated fats. The allergen statement lists wheat (gluten) and sulphites, which come in with the apples. The other flavours carry their own recipes, so check each pack rather than assuming they match this one.

The easy one to pair

Raspberry holds the middle of the range. It is sweet and softly fruity with no sharp edge, so a plain builder's tea at everyday strength suits it without any fuss. The mango and passionfruit version brings a real acidity that makes it much harder to pair with a strong mug, while cherry is deeper, sweeter and entirely without an edge. For one packet to please everybody at the table, this is it.

Dunk for a second at most, and expect it to complain. The shortcake would last longer, but hot tea runs in through the heart and softens the centre first. Better to eat it beside the mug, or with a glass of cold milk, which is how plenty of people first met it. Once opened, fold the film down tightly or tip the biscuits into a tin.

The packs we stock

• Jammie Dodgers Raspberry Flavour Biscuits, 140g (barcode 5010049002649)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Jammie Dodgers Raspberry Flavour Biscuits, 140g says it contains wheat (gluten) and sulphites. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Niacin, Iron and Thiamin), Raspberry Flavour Apple Jam (27%) (Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Apples (Sulphites), Sugar, Humectant (Glycerol), Acid (Citric Acid), Flavourings, Colours (Anthocyanins, Annatto Norbixin), Gelling Agent (Pectin), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrates)), Vegetable Oils (Sustainable Palm, Rapeseed), Sugar, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Flavourings.

Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Yorkshire Tea Original Loose Leaf Tea, 250g: A proper everyday brew with the body to meet sweet jam and soft shortcake head on.
• PG Tips English Breakfast Special Blends Speciality Black, 70 Tea Bags: A brisk breakfast blend, taken with milk and no sugar, for the classic after-school pairing.
• Hyson Premium Breakfast Tea, 100 Tea Bags 180g: A bright, brisk breakfast tea that keeps the jam from feeling heavy.
• Dragonfly Organic Earl Grey Rooibos, 40 Tea Bags 100g: A bergamot-scented rooibos for a gentler cup later in the day.

Elsewhere in the Jammie Dodgers range

• Jammie Dodgers 16 Raspberry Flavour Biscuits Jumbo, 280g
• Jammie Dodgers Cherry Flavour Biscuits, 140g
• Jammie Dodgers Mango & Passionfruit Flavour Biscuits, 140g
• Jammie Dodgers Minis Cherry Flavour Multipack Biscuits, 6 x 20g
• Jammie Dodgers Minis Raspberry Flavour Biscuits 6 Snack Packs
• Jammie Dodgers Strawberry Flavour Jam & Biscuit, 140g

The full range is on the Jammie Dodgers brand page.

FAQ

Why are they called Jammie Dodgers? They are named after Roger the Dodger, the character from the Beano.

Where are Jammie Dodgers made? At the Llantarnam bakery in Wales, where they have been baked since 1960.

Are raspberry Jammie Dodgers vegan? The brand labels its raspberry pack as suitable for vegans. The allergen statement lists wheat (gluten) and sulphites.

Is there real raspberry in the jam? The ingredient list calls it raspberry flavour apple jam. The fruit base is apple, and raspberries are not listed.

What tea goes best with Jammie Dodgers? An everyday builder's tea with milk and no sugar. The raspberry has no sharp edge, so the cup needs no adjusting.

Curator's note: If only one Jammie Dodger lives in the cupboard, make it this one. It is the flavour the others are measured against, and it never argues with the teapot. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Jammie Dodgers Raspberry: The Original Explained

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles

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