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Ajam tart is small and open Englishtart variety.[1][2]
The term "jam tart" came into common use around the 1840s, but the dish itself predates the term.[3] They comprise smallshortcrust pastry bases, filled with afruit jam, such asstrawberry,raspberry,apricot orlemon curd which are thenbaked.[4] The earliest recorded use of the phrase "jam tart" is fromc. 1840.[5]
Jam tarts are considered a "quintessential" British food,[4] although possibly they are known to have been consumed in eighth-centuryXinjiang, China, and used as aburial offering to the gods.[6] They were unknown to most people inMedieval Europe, however, until the Atlanticsugar trade of the century. This was because until sugar became widely available for common use, the usual medieval sweetener washoney, but, unlike sugar, honey was a limitedpreservative.[7][8] Theruling classes could afford the little sugar that could be imported form theMiddle East, and it was used to make what were known as "tartstuff", a rich butter paste patty filled with a fruit filling such as strawberry, mixed with were stewed with sugar, redwine,cinnamon,ginger orrose-water.[9][note 1] TheRomans made pastry, but not jam.[10]
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By theVictorian period jam tarts had become a staple of the domestic menu. Recipes from cooks such asHannah Glasse popularised baking with jam,[11] as until then sugar was most commonly known as "a medicine, a spice, or a plaything of the powerful".[12] were known as Epiphany tarts, as they were traditionally baked for 6 January, to celebrate the arrival of theThree Kings inBethlehem, and were considered a delicacy.[13] They have been described by a modernfood critic as "the very pinnacle of understated boasting in the jam tart world". Larger than 20th century tarts, it was divided into 13 equal slices, representingJesus and his disciples, with each section filled with a different variety of jam.[14] Trying to use as many different flavours as possible added a competitive element.[15] The tart also indicatedsocio-economic status, both by reflecting the depth of faith in the household and that luxuries were affordable;[13]Mrs Beeton wrote that, even in 1861, jam was a luxury due to its expense, particularly when recipes required "considerable quantities", such as jam tarts.[16] They also could be made throughout the year, often with the addition ofmincemeat.[17]
It is probable that it was an erroneously made jam tart that led to the accidental creation of theBakewell pudding, inBakewell,Derbyshire. Supposedly one Mrs Greaves left instructions for her inexperienced cook to make a jam tart, but, instead of mixing eggs and almond paste for pastry, she spread it on top of the jam where it formed a crust on baking.[18][note 2]
Jam tarts have entered British culture. In an episode of the television seriesMidsomer Murders, 'Secrets and Spies', one of the characters refers toMr Kipling as being not "just a jam tart"; this was an allusion to both the confectionary company who produced the cakes andRudyard Kipling, who wrotespy novels.[19] In thesitcomPlease Sir! (1968–1972) episode,Peter Cleall's character Eric Duffy defended a subnormal fellow pupil played byPeter Denyer—Dennis Dunstable—fellow actorDavid Barry wrote, Cleall was in possession of a jam tart. According to Barry, Cleall "carried the jam tart over toRichard Everett's character, and said threateningly, 'Did you say something, you pasty-faced pillock?'" before smashing the tart into Everett's face; "Jam trickled all over the shocked actor's face, down his neck and over his school uniform."[20]
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The pastry is also an essential component of the Englishnursery rhyme,The Queen of Hearts, in which the eponymous Queen bakes some jam tarts. The King of Hearts wants to dine, only for it to be discovered that the tarts have been stolen. Investigation reveals the Knave of Hearts as the culprit; the King proceeds to "beat the knave full sore". As a result of his beating, the knave promises to desist from his life of crime in future.[21]Lewis Carroll uses the rhyme asplot device inAlice's Adventures in Wonderland toparody theBritish justice system, using theKing of Hearts, theQueen of Hearts and theKnave of Hearts as characters.[22][23]In 2015, the Welsh town ofLlandudno—whereAlice Liddell, Carroll's inspiration forAlice——launched an attempt to enter theGuinness Book of Records for the longest line—1500,[24] 2000,[25] or 2045[26]—of jam tarts, which must also then be consumed. This followed a previous attempt by the town three years previously, when participants made and ate 1716 tarts.[25]
W. H. Auden wrote a poem in 1938 titled "I'm a Jam Tart", as asatire on thecabaret songs ofCole Porter.[27] Jam tart has beenCockney rhyming slang forheart since the 19th century, and also referred to a man's "best girl". Its use expanded to include (usually young) women generally, and thus theterm of endearment "sweetheart".[28] For example,Barry Humphries stated, in his 1971 bookBazz Pulls it Off! that "whenever I see a decent jam tart with a good set oftop bollocks I'm in like Flynn. No probs!",[29][note 3] and inAustralian English, for example, "The Pope's a Jew if that jam tart doesn't root like a rattlesnake" as reported inPrivate Eye in 1969.[5] Another of jam tart's original slang meanings was "mart", as in amarket place; this was often applied to theLondon Stock Exchange. This further led to the combination of the two to mean a girl ofloose morals,[28] or even aprostitute.[5] Due to its association with "heart", and the fact that they play in amaroon strip, jam tart also became the nickname for theScottish football team,Heart of Midlothian.[30][31]