[PW] confusing food terminology

[Bye, Dan J]

How about these definitions:
 
Jelly: "a word applied to items made from flavoured solutions mixed with a setting agent, and then allowed to cool. They can be sweet or savoury, and range in texture from soft, ephemeral desserts to chewy confectionary. In scientific terms, they are substances called gels. In everyday language, the term jelly is used in three main ways. Jelly sweets are confectionary items which use gelling agents... to maintain syrups in a rigid form... Jelly desserts, as made in Europe and N. America, are most flavoured with fruit; Jelly preserves are like jam, but use strained fruit juice rather than fruit pulp. In N. America, however, jelly is a general term for jam. In any case, pectin acts as the gelling agent."
 
Jam: "a mixture of fruit and sugar boiled together, poured into jars and sealed to give a long-keeping preserve with a wet semi-solid consistency, known to a food scientist as a gel. There are distinctions to be observed between jam, where the fruit is almost formless and the texture is thick yet almost flowing; Jelly, where the fruit is strained for its juice then cooked with sugar and gelled (and which in the USA is a frequent colloquial usage for jam); marmalade, which in England means citrus jam with peel, but in France may mean a fruit paste or cheese; and conserve or preserve, where the fruit is in almost its original form, cooked in a very thick syrup."
 
Marmalade: "in Britain, refers to a jam-like preserve made from the bitter, or Seville, orange. The inclusion of the orange peel, cut into thin 'chips' or shreds, is characteristic of this preserve. 'Marmalades' based on other citrus fruits, such as lime or lemon are made as is ginger marmalade. However, orange marmalade is perceived as the archetype (although not the prototype)."
 
Preserve: "a word applied to foods treated by some means to achieve their preservation. Thus foods which have been chilled, frozen, pickled or treated with sugar are all preserved foods. The words 'preserve' and 'conserve' are also used more specifically to indicate an (often expensive or unusual) jam. Although this is generally regarded as pretentious today, both words were used this way at least a century before the word 'jam' became common."
 
Compote: "a dish of fruit cooked in a light sugar syrup. The fruit may be fresh or dried (in which case it is soaked before use, possibly with a liqueur or in tea) and may have added flavouring such as cinnamon or lemon zest. It may be served warm or cold, as a dessert. It is often offered in its poaching liquid, which may be such a light syrup as to resemble water in its liquidity, but the more luxurious form... the liquid is considerably reduced before being poured over the fruit in the serving dish."
 
Source: Jaine, Tom (ed) and Davidson, Alan (2006).  The Oxford Companion to Food. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 
Cheers,
Dan
 
 
________________________________

From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org on behalf of Vance Howard
Sent: Fri 18/04/2008 13:55
To: list at project-wombat.org
Subject: [PW] confusing food terminology



Project Wombat:

    Can you assist in helping to decipher some confusing (to me, at least) food terminology, to wit, the meanings of the terms: jelly, jam, preserves, conserve, compote. Many Internet sites I've queried all say these involve fruit cooked in sugar [or some variant thereof]. Cookbooks are also somewhat vague in distinguishing whether there are any differences among the terms. I'd be very grateful if you could help in clarifying these terms.

Vance Howard


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