There’s substantial difference between jam, jelly and preserves. Even jam and jelly are not the same whereas we do use the terms interchangeably at times. Let us clarify a few things first. Jam, jelly and preserves are not different in regards to their preservation and additives or preservatives, if any when prepared at home. There are different ingredients, the form of the ingredients and also in the methods of preparation. It is possible that a few jams would taste similar to a few jellies and vice versa. It may also happen that you would find some preserves tasting very similar to some jam or jelly you have had. Regardless of such similarities, there is a huge difference between jam, jelly and preserves.
Let us first understand the ingredients that go into making the three. All three can be made from the same ingredients but just in varying forms and how they are made.
• Jam, jelly and preserves, all three are made from fruit. Any fruit you pick can be used to make any of the three.
• Then there’s sugar. Not only does sugar make your jam, jelly and preserves sweet but it also preserves the blend. Sugar extracts the moisture of the living cells of the fruit used in the recipe and makes the fruit unsuitable for microbes. Thus, the chances of spoilage are largely reduced. It must be noted that sugar can be used in many forms. You could opt for honey, corn syrup, brown sugar or just regular sugar.
• The third ingredient common to all three preps is pectin. Pectin is fiber, an indigestible carbohydrate that thickens the syrup or blend you make. It is a natural product which makes it ideal for jam, jelly and preserves. Pectin can be obtained from apples and some other fruits. Depending on the pectin content in a fruit, you may need some more pectin in the recipe.
• For perfectly ripe fruits that have enough pectin, you may not need any additional help. Jam, jelly and preserves being made from apple, plum, quince and blackberries don’t need any extra pectin. They have enough of it. Jam, jelly and preserves being made from blueberries, apricots and peaches will require additional pectin. The fourth ingredient is acid. Acidity will help the pectin to form the gel. You can turn to lemon, citric acid or vinegar. You may even opt for orange juice in some recipes.
Jam
To make jam, you need fruit in crushed form. The fruit must be chopped and then cooked with sugar. While being cooked, the water will evaporate from the mixture and the blend will thicken, become syrupy. There are stringent regulations pertaining to what you can call jam. For some fruits like oranges, berries and pineapples, you must have 47 parts of fruit by weight to 53 parts of sugar. For guava, currants and stone fruit, the ratio of fruit to sugar should be 45 to 55. The weight of the fruit is not in totality but that of skinned, seeded and pitted fruit.
Jelly
Jelly is made from fruit juice. Liquid extracts of a fruit, which may or may not contain some pulp and solids, are strained to ensure that there is no solid or pulpy extract. Usually, fruits are crushed to form the clear and thick liquid and then it is combined with other ingredients before being cooked. There are many ways to strain the fruit extracts and ensure that no solids or pulps get in. The methods of straining and sieving depend on the quantity or scale of production. There are regulations pertaining to jelly as well. According to federal norms, you can only call it jelly when there is at least 55% of fruit juice in the final product by weight.
Preserves
Preserves use chunks of fruits. You may even find some chunks in the finished product. Preserves are often used as a term to club all kinds of fruit spreads into one group. That is not an absolutely accurate classification. Preserves are not made from crushed fruit or from fruit juice. Recipes do involve making syrups or gels from the crushed fruit but only chunks of the fruit will be used as the primary ingredient. For most preserves, the fruit chunks are large and uniform. They tend to hold onto their shape and form through the cooking process. Eventually, you would get the utility of jam or jelly and you would also get a bit of plump and tender fruit pieces.
Bottom Line
It doesn’t matter what you are making, jam or jelly or preserves, it all boils down to the fruit you use, the exact recipe you have and how you go about it. The quality of the fruit will be the biggest determiner of the taste and quality of the jam, jelly or preserves.
