It was with some amusement and, I have to confess, slight irritation that I read about Eric Snaith’s recipe for a deep fried jam sandwich, who “originally imagined the pudding while thinking about scouts having sandwiches over a campfire”, which Delia Smith has now added to the menu at the grill at Norwich City (Better than a doughnut? Delia Smith dishes up a deep-fried jam sandwich, 14 July).
I grew up eating jam fritters, as we knew them, made by our mum (who died last year aged 98). Money was tight, but Mum was a good cook; a very poor childhood and rationing meant that she was skilled in making something out of nothing. She’d always make a pudding for us to have after dinner, eaten at midday, and cake after tea – the meal we ate later in the day. Fritters appeared in several forms: banana, pineapple and, if there was nothing else in the house, jam. These were made exactly as Snaith describes – a jam sandwich dipped in batter and deep fried. I think the crusts were trimmed off. Delicious!
Helen Lloyd
Bronygarth, Shropshire
• I was surprised that the article about Delia Smith’s love of deep-fried jam sandwiches made no reference to the deep-fried jeely pieces that were served in Glasgow’s Stravaigin 2 restaurant. They were invented there as a response to the notorious deep-fried Mars bar sold in a Stonehaven chippy.
After trying various options, the chef came up with a brioche-style bread, fresh strawberry puree, a light pancake batter, deep-fried and served with Carnation milk ice-cream. I can vouch for the dish’s deliciousness, though, sadly, Stravaigin 2 is no more.
Roger Downie
Glasgow
• Well, I don’t know about “interesting” or “adventurous”, “imagined … while thinking about scouts having sandwiches over a campfire”, but I do know that deep-fried jam sandwiches are delicious. My mother used to make them for us in the early 1970s. She called them “poor man’s doughnuts”, and says she got the recipe from my grandma.
Karen Dyson
Manchester
• The deep-fried jam sandwich was a treat we delighted in 60 years ago at my Sussex boarding school. We guessed that its frequent appearance in the dining room was to use up stale bread. It was one of the few things we looked forward to at mealtimes.
Judy Ford
Nelson, Caerphilly
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