Preserves - Jam-Jelly-Marmalade

Preserves-Jam-Jelly-Marmalade

When we say 'Jam' :) automatically 3 other words come attached to it and also the dilemma of each!....The 3 words glued to the term jam are 'Preserve', 'Jelly', 'Marmalade'....

So....is every spread a jam? or jelly or marmalade ? what term to use for what ? I had this question in my mind and have also seen many of my friends asking the same thing or just keeping this question to their mind :)... So let me un-veil this secret ;) to all of you in a very very simple layman terms .... hope you enjoy reading while clearing your curiosity too!!

Lets start with Preserve, followed by Jam, Jelly and Marmalade. I have included few more terms in this write-up, for extra curious friends :)

Preserve

Preserve as the name says, to protect, to store it for long-term! This is a bigger umbrella, under which jams, jellies and marmalade come in. All the 3 of it are cooked to be 'preserved' for longer time and one need not have to cook daily for our spreads. Even 'Chutney', 'Fruit butter', 'Fruit spread' are taken as a preserves. The cooking method and the end result makes the difference and hence the varied names.

Some thick fruit spreads made from fruit & sugar, but large pieces of fruit or whole fruit (example strawberries) are used. Such spreads are mostly termed as preserves also.

Jam

Jam is the most common term used for any fruit spread. It is homogeneous and squishy. The fruit is blended and hardly fruit pieces will be seen in the mixture. Jams are the end result of cooked fruit, sugar, pectin and a bit of acidic content. Proportions of each, need to be taken care. Primary goal is to preserve the original fresh flavor of the fruit itself. Jams mostly give the 'much alike' taste of the fresh fruit. Jams are relatively simple to prepare.

Jelly

Jelly is fruit juice cooked and set by mostly natural pectin of the fruit. It is translucently clear. The set jelly can be cut into pieces, it holds its shape. It quivers when moved :). When the fruit is simmered for long in water, its flavor and pectin are released into the water. The simmered fruit is then strained out. The extracted juice is then boiled with sugar on high heat to a consistency which sets when cooled.

Marmalade

Marmalade is a combination of jelly and fruit peel. Some marmalade also have pieces of fruit in the spread. Look wise marmalade are very vibrant and attractive (my personal like :D ). Its a perfect balance of translucent jelly and opaque fruit peels and pieces. Its a long process to make a marmalade, as it takes a lot of soaking and cooking. Mostly marmalade are popular for citrus fruits like, lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, etc., but these days it can be made with almost any fruit.

Few more terms for the extra curious ones :

Conserve

A conserve, is a preserve made of fruit stewed in sugar. This process mostly involves spreading the dry sugar over raw fruit in layers, and leaving for several hours to get absorbed into the fruit. Finally heating the mixture till its setting consistency gives the end result. Conserves involve minimal cooking but again, takes long time to be prepared as soaking takes hours of time.

Fruit spread

Fruit spread refers to a jam or preserve with no added sugar.

Fruit Butter

Its a buttery consistency, smooth fruit paste. The fruit is cooked till its soft and then sieved to give a thick smooth paste. This is then cooked with sugar to a consistency that when dropped by spoon, it mounds up.