Fruit Preserves are fruits, or vegetables, that have been prepared and canned for long term storage. The preparation of fruit preserves traditionally involves the use of pectin as a gelling agent, although sugar or honey may be used as well. The ingredients used and how they are prepared will determine the type of preserves; jams, jellies and marmalades are all examples of different styles of fruit preserves that vary based upon the ingredients used.

There are various varieties of fruit preserves made globally, and they can be made from sweet or savory ingredients. In North America, the plural form preserves is used, while the singular preserve is used in British and Commonwealth English. Additionally, the name of the type of fruit preserves will also vary depending on the regional variant of English being used.

Variations on Preserves

Confit, which is the past participle form of the French verb "confire" or "to preserve", is most often applied to preservation of meats, especially poultry and pork, by cooking them in their own fat or oils and allowing the fats to set. However, the term can also refer to fruit or vegetables which have been seasoned and cooked with honey or sugar until it has reached a jam-like consistency. Savory confits, such as ones made with garlic or tomatoes, may call for a savory oil such as virgin olive oil as the preserving agent.

Conserves – A conserve is a jam made of fruit stewed in sugar.

Although under EU law a fruit conserve has no official definition, typically it will have identifiable whole chunks of fruit, or, if the initial fruit is small — e.g. bilberry, wild strawberry or other small berry - whole fruits in the set mixture. It is sometimes known as a whole fruit jam.

An alternate definition holds that conserves are preserves made from a mixture of fruits and/or vegetables. Conserves may also include dried fruit or nuts.

Fruit Butter, in this context, refers to a process where the whole fruit is forced through a sieve or blended after the heating process.

"Fruit butters are generally made from larger fruits, such as apples, plums, peaches or grapes. Cook until softened and run through a sieve to give a smooth consistency. After sieving, cook the pulp ... add sugar and cook as rapidly as possible with constant stirring... The finished product should mound up when dropped from a spoon, but should not cut like jelly. Neither should there be any free liquid."—Berolzheimer R (ed) et al. (1959)

Fruit Curd is a dessert topping and spread usually made with lemon, lime, orange, or raspberry. The basic ingredients are beaten egg yolks, sugar, fruit juice and zest which are gently cooked together until thick and then allowed to cool, forming a soft, smooth, intensely flavored spread. Some recipes also include egg whites and/or butter.

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

Jam contains both fruit juice and pieces of the fruit's (or vegetable's) flesh. However, some cookbooks define jam as cooked and gelled fruit (or vegetable) purees.

Properly, the term jam refers to a product made with whole fruit, cut into pieces or crushed. The fruit is heated with water and sugar to activate the pectin in the fruit. The mixture is then put into containers.

Other Variations

Uncooked or minimally cooked (less than 5 minutes) jams, called freezer jam, because they are stored frozen, are popular in parts of North America for their very fresh taste.

Jelly – In North America, the term jelly refers to a clear fruit spread consisting of set, sweetened fruit (or vegetable) juice. Additional pectin may be added in some instances where the original fruit does not supply enough, for example with grapes.

Jelly may refer to:

• Gelatin, a translucent brittle solid substance, extracted from the collagen inside animals' connective tissue.
  Gelatin dessert, referred to as jelly in Britain and other countries, popular brands include Jell-O, Rowntree's and Hartley's.
• Fruit preserves, called 'jelly' in North America, specifically a clear fruit spread.
• Aspic, a dish containing broth with gelatin, served cold.

In British English, 'jelly' is also generally used to mean a sweet dessert made by adding gelatin to fruit juice, or more commonly from commercially prepared concentrated blocks. Jelly in the sense of a preserve or spread can be made from sweet, savory or hot ingredients. It is made by a similar process to jam, with the additional step of filtering out the fruit pulp after the initial heating. A muslin or stockinette "jelly bag" is traditionally used as a filter, suspended by string over a bowl to allow the straining to occur gently under gravity.

Marmalade – British-style marmalade is a sweet preserve with a bitter tang made from fruit, sugar, water, and (in some commercial brands) a gelling agent. American-style marmalade is sweet, not bitter. In English-speaking usage, "marmalade" almost always refers to a preserve derived from a citrus fruit, most commonly oranges, although onion marmalade is also used as an accompaniment to savoury dishes.

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