The Difference Between Jam and Jelly
Picture the aisles of your local grocery store. Try to imagine the section of fruit spreads, where you find a large assortment of varieties and flavors. Do you know the differences at a glance?
You wouldn′t be the first person to wonder to yourself: what is the difference between jam, jelly and preserves? What is marmalade? Why are some called fruit spreads? It’s not as sticky as it seems, so we’ve broken down all the differences.
The first thing you should know is that most fruit spreads include these three ingredients: fruit, sugar and pectin. Pectin is a natural starch within fruit, aka the “glue” that holds everything together, and helps to create the right consistency. (Source) When mixed with sugar and heated in water, pectin creates a gel and gives fruit spreads their texture. Even though pectin is in the fruit already, it often needs to be added when making jelly so that it thickens. More on that later.
Now for the big question… should you reach for a jar of Smucker’s® jelly or marmalade? Jam or preserves? That ultimately depends on the texture and taste you′re looking for, so let’s get into specifics.
What Is Jelly?
Jelly is a semi-solid spread with the consistency of gelatin that does not contain any solid pieces of fruit. (Source) Unlike its cousins, jelly is transparent and will hold its shape when taken out of the container. (Source)
How Jelly Is Made
If you’ve ever wondered, “What is jelly made of?” let′s start with the key ingredients that go in it. The trifecta is fruit juice, sugar and pectin. The fruit juice is what gives jelly its smooth texture. Sugar aids in the preservation, adds flavor and helps with gelling. Oftentimes, pectin needs to be added if too much of it was extracted from the fruit as the fruit juice was being made. Jelly also needs the right level of acid in order to form. If the acidity is too low, the gel won’t set. If it’s too high, the gel will lose liquid. (Source)
To make jelly, the fruit juice is combined with sugar and pectin and heated until the sugar dissolves. The mixture will begin to thicken as it simmers, and once it has, it’s strained to remove any solids. After the mixture has cooled and solidified, it creates a clear, firm fruit spread. (Source)
Ideas for Using Jelly
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is an obvious staple, especially if it’s made with Smucker's® peanut butter. But you can use a jar of Smucker’s® jelly on and in more than your favorite sandwich. Whether you have grape, strawberry or mixed fruit jelly on-hand, there are loads of tasty ways to spread the love. Thumbprint cookies are a classic dessert to serve at gatherings, especially during the holidays. Speaking of gatherings, grape jelly meatballs are quite the crowd-pleaser. You guests won’t be able to get enough. They’re easy to make, easy to serve and easy to eat. Not to mention, just the right amount of sweet. We’re also fans of jelly on buttered toast, and on top of cheese and crackers. The possibilities with jelly are endless.
What Is Jam?
Jam is very similar to jelly, but the difference is that jam is made with pureed fruit rather than fruit juice – it’s mostly semi-transparent, meaning that light can still pass through it, but tiny bits of fruit are suspended throughout. It’s easy to spread, even with pieces of fruit in it, and it has a softer, looser texture than jelly. (Source)
How Jam Is Made
As mentioned above, jam is made with fruit puree. Small fruits like berries and grapes make great jams. The fruit is cooked with water and sugar to boil down the liquid and activate the pectin. Once the jam has reached its setting point of 220 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s put into jars. (Source)
Ideas for Using Jam
Jam is known to be one of the most versatile fruit spreads, which means we have a jam-packed collection of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and more. One of our personal favorite ways to use jam is filling the nooks and crannies of an English muffin. Jam-filled crêpes are another morning favorite. Jam makes tasty sauces for meat, like a decadent Chocolate Caramel Raspberry Sauce or Blackberry Barbecue Sauce.
What Are Preserves?
Preserves are like jam except that they contain whole or large pieces of fruit with the consistency of preserves is chunkier than jelly and jam. They don’t spread as easily, so they’re best used as a topping; they are also opaque since there are so many pieces of fruit in the mixture, light cannot pass through. (Source)
How Preserves Are Made
We don’t need to get into too much detail here because preserves are made almost the same way as jam. The biggest difference is that preserves are made with whole or larger pieces of fruit instead of pureed fruit.
Ideas for Using Preserves
Preserves and jam are mostly interchangeable when it comes to using them in recipes, so we’ll give you some other ideas. This fruity balsamic vinaigrette is simple to make with other common household items — vinegar, water, mustard and spices — and is best served over a bed of greens with sliced pears, blue cheese crumbles and chopped pecans. Preserves also pair well with yogurt, whether you choose to stir it in, or layer it in a parfait.
What Is Marmalade?
A marmalade is essentially a preserve except it’s made from citrus fruits or fruit juices, and it includes the peel or rind. That’s why you’ll never see a berry marmalade. You’ll likely notice that marmalades taste slightly more bitter than jellies and jams. This is because of the citrus peel. Citrus peels contain lots of pectin, which is why the texture of marmalade is most like jelly. (Source)
How Marmalade Is Made
When marmalade is being made, the fruit (including the peel) is cut into thin slices and summered in boiling water. Sugar is then added to help it thicken and the mixture will darken to a burnt orange color. (Source)
Best Uses for Marmalade
Marmalade can make a great addition to so many tasty recipes, especially as a meat glaze or marinade. Smucker’s® Sweet Orange Marmalade compliments popular Asian dishes quite well, like stir fry and kung pao chicken. Or use it to sweeten up a seafood dish like this Dijon orange salmon.
What Is Fruit Butter?
If you’re familiar with our Cider Apple Butter, you may be wondering how fruit butter fits into the mix. Fruit butter has a thinner consistency than jam and is less sweet. Jam has a brighter color than fruit butter, which is typically an opaque brown color. Fruit butter is also smoother than jam and is typically pureed to have a texture like applesauce. It is commonly used as a topping, filling or garnish and tastes delicious on toast, or as a pork glaze.
What Are Fruit Spreads?
Now that we’ve gone over the key differences and similarities between jam, jelly, preserves, marmalades and fruit butter, you might be wondering why some of our packages say “fruit spread” instead of jam, jelly, etc.
First, we should clarify that all the products we explained above are types of fruit spreads. The reason we don′t call all our Smucker′s® fruit spreads something more specific is the sugar content — and probably not in the way you might think. The terminology is driven by something called a standard of identity.
Let’s Talk About Standards of Identity
Standards of identity are a mandatory set of requirements, outlined by the FDA, that must be met in order for a product to be sold under a specific name. They describe what a food product must contain, how it must be proportioned, and how it must be manufactured. (Source)
In order to define a product as a jelly, jam or preserve, one rule is that it must contain a certain amount of sugar by weight. If there is less sugar in a fruit spread, that means that it won’t meet the FDA’s definition of “jelly” or “jam.” That’s why Smucker′s® Natural Fruit Spreads products have “fruit spread” in the name, because they don′t contain enough sugar by that standard. Other products on the market may not meet the standards of identity requirements for different reasons, such as using a kind of fruit that doesn′t qualify.
Whichever category of fruit spreads you prefer, you might be interested to know that Smucker’s has a rich history of making them.
How Smucker’s® Fruit Spreads Became the #1 Brand
After producing apple butter since 1897, Smucker’s began manufacturing jams, jellies and preserves in 1923. At that time, Smucker’s was still a local operation in Orrville, Ohio. That changed in 1942 with our first national shipment of fruit spreads.
In the mid-1960s, we became a nationally recognized brand when we began advertising on the “Tonight” and “Today” Shows. Johnny Carson featured our fruit spreads on his late-night show, and we have been a “Today” Show feature ever since.
In 1975, Smucker’s became the number one jelly and preserves brand in the United States after reaching $100 million in sales and assuming market share leadership in preserves and jelly tonnage. Smucker’s Natural Fruit Spreads were introduced in 2013. (Source)
Today, Smucker′s spreads are enjoyed in households and businesses across North America and beyond.
Stock Up on Smucker’s® Fruit Spreads
From jam to marmalade, Smucker’s has something for every recipe in all your favorite flavors — including sugar-free and natural fruit spreads. Grab your favorite online or at a store near you.