Category Food Preservation

This time of year, when fruit and vegetables are in abundance, is a great time to make some sweet treats, jams and jellies. Although preparing the fruit can be time consuming, I believe, jams and jellies are two of the easiest preservation methods. The question is, which is better, jam or jelly. Whatever your answer, the most important thing in preparing both, is to use recipes that are approved with safe preservation guidelines. Good resources are Ball or The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

The Similarities

Fruits and vegetables are used to make jams and jellies. Oh yes, vegetables are jammed and jellied. Zucchini, tomatoes and peppers are some of the most common veggies made into sweet treats. Jams and jellies both include sugar. In both types, some varieties require citric acid or lemon juice to safely preserve. Jams and jellies can be frozen, eaten fresh or canned. Pectin isn’t a requirement in jams and jellies; it merely cuts down on the cooking time.

The Difference

The difference between the two is that jam uses the pulp of the fruit or vegetable, while jelly uses only the juice. Jelly requires an additional step in making as one must strain the juice out of the boiled or cooked fruit or vegetable pulp.  You can cut down on the prep time and labor and use bottled juice. The pulp is usually discarded in jelly making, thus, it may be viewed as food waste. However, some people prefer jelly when the fruit includes seeds, such as blackberries. Seeds can be hard for some to digest. Others prefer to see bits of the actual fruit or vegetable pulp when they spread jam over toast, meat, etc. An argument also exits that jam has a stronger flavor because it contains pulp.

Jam or jelly is really a personal preference when eating or preparing. If you need to save time, opt for jam. If you can’t handle seeds due to digestion or other reasons, do the extra step and make jelly. I personally like both, jam is my preference, but marmalade is my favorite. (Don’t get me started on marmalade). I love to see the actual fruit or vegetable on my toast or biscuit. I think both are beautiful, delicious and very rewarding to make. If you are team jelly or team jam and would like to battle your beliefs out with supporting evidence, please invite me over to referee.