[PW] confusing food terminology

[Marian Drabkin]

The distinction between preserves and canned fruit is that preserves are 
much sweeter and the syrup is thicker and generally fruity, and meant to be 
served as a topping on bread, biscuits, ice cream, puddings etc.   Canned 
fruit, on the other hand, is whole or chunks of fruit in a light sugar syrup 
(even the "heavy" syrup is lighter than anything in jam or jelly) and meant 
to be served in a dish as a fruit course, or in whatever combination pleases 
the cook.  So there are times -- and fruits -- where the distinction is more 
what the cook's intention is than how the fruit is prepared, although for 
most purposes and in most cookery books there is indeed a strong 
distinction.  Preserves can even be a generic term for all sorts of fruit 
and sugar preparations meant to be preserved in sterile sealed jars.

Conserves are a different matter entirely, nuts and sometimes bits of 
candied fruits or ginger and chopped or chunked fruit in a syrup often 
though not always flavoured with liqueur or brandy. Jam
and jelly are as has been described, the first of mashed or pureed fruit 
cooked down with sugar and sometimes added pectin so that it is semi-firm if 
turned out on a plate, and jelly being the expressed juice of fruit mixed 
with sugar and sometimes added pectin, and cooked to the point where it 
will, when slid out of its glass, stand up on a saucer.

Marian Drabkin
who has made many, many jars of all of them

Marian

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Early, Charles T. (GSFC-272.0)[LIBRY]" <charles.t.early at nasa.gov>
To: <list at project-wombat.org>
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: [PW] confusing food terminology


> In the US I believe we usually distinguish between jellies, which
> contain only fruit juice (and are clear and jiggly like Jello), and
> jams, which include the pulp in one form or another (e.g., pureed).
> Preserves are like jams, but with chunks of fruit added (or with whole
> fruit, although like Nichael I would probably have called those "canned
> fruit" back in the Midwest).
>
>
> Charles Early
> Library, Code 272                         (301) 286-0887, Fax (301)
> 286-8218
> Goddard Space Flight Center               Charles.T.Early at nasa.gov
>
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: project-wombat-open-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org
> [mailto:project-wombat-open-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org] On Behalf
> Of Brian Whatcott
> Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 12:47 PM
> To: list at project-wombat.org
> Subject: Re: [PW] confusing food terminology
>
> At 10:19 AM 4/18/2008, you wrote:
>>Vance:
>>
>>I'm sure others will post more complete answers, but bear in mind that
>>many of these are not "fixed" terms.  Their meaning can have a lot
>>regional (and
>>other) variance.
>>
>>For example, here in the Northeast, where I now live they use the term
> "jam"
>>to refer to what we knew as "preserves" in my Hoosier boyhood.  (We
>>would have just called "preserves" something like "canned fruit".)
>>
>>Similarly, someone told me recently that in England "jelly" is used
>>primarily to refer to the product that we on this side of The Pond know
> as Jell-o.
>>
>>Nichael
>
>
> It seems to me that Nichael has it right.
> There is a difference in labeling between US and English usage.
> Fruits stewed with pectin and packed in glass jars are called jams in
> England.
> The upmarket term is 'preserve' for the same article.
>  The comparable US term is jelly.
> There is one fruit preserve marked out for special treatment, originally
>  a Scots staple  called marmalade - which is essentially a somewhat
>  tart orange jam usually with a good helping of chopped peel.
>
> The English jelly is a fruit flavored gelatine dessert;  here in the US
> called by the trade name Jello.
> Compote is a further upmarket designation for some jams in a jar, but
> more likely  to indicate a fruit or savory decoction of several
>  different kinds prepared on the spot.
>
> Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!
>
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