Jam or Jelly?

Jam is traditionally a preparation of crushed fruit preserved in a thick syrup composed of the fruit's natural juices and sugar. Jam has long been a method to preserve the most fragile fruits of the harvest, and often contains berries or soft fruit that would not stand as well in a "preserve" (which contains whole fruit).

There is often confusion over what constitutes a jam, versus a jelly, preserve, or marmalade. Below is a list to help one distinguish between several types of fruit preserves:

Jam

is made from crushed or chopped fruit reduced with sugar, and often pectin and lemon juice. Jam can be a puree or have a soft pulp, but it does not contain whole fruits.

Jelly

is clear and bright. It is made by reducing the juice of one or more fruits, or an infusion of herbs, with sugar, pectin, and lemon juice. The pectin is highly valued here to give the "gelling" factor to Jelly. Jelly has no pieces of fruit.

Conserve

is a mixture of more than one fruit, often with added nuts and raisins, that is cooked until it becomes thick. It is used as a spread for breads, pastries, and meats.

Chutney

is a spiced bitter-sweet preparation of fruits and/or herbs and vegetables which is used as a condiment in Indian cuisine (chatni is the Hindi word for strongly spiced).

Marmalade

is a soft jelly made only with citrus fruits, such as Seville Orange, Lime, Grapefruits, or Citrons. It includes both the flesh and peel of the fruit. The bitterness of the peel offsets the sweetness of the jelly.

Fruit Butter

is a fruit puree or crushed fruit combined with sugar, lemon juice, and spices slowly cooked down to a smooth consistency. The "butter" refers to its spreadability.

Fruit Cheese

is a very thick country preserve that's traditionally set in a mould and then sliced and served as an accompaniment to cold meat.

Fruit Curd

is a creamy spread made with sugar, eggs, and butter, generally flavored with citrus juice and zest.

Fruit Spread

is a jam or preserve made with fruit juice concentrate or low calorie sweetners replacing all or part of the sugar.

Preserves

are whole fruits or large pieces of fruit cooked with sugar and suspended in the resulting syrup base.

The variety of types of preserves ties back to the history of jam making, electuaries, and candied fruit, as well as cultural preferences in cuisine.