And of course referring to it as “Jelly” will trigger the UK “spot the American” response as Jelly in England is Jello (or something like it). Jam or preserves. Then there is pudding…
I couldn’t find it in Melbourne when I lived there so was not surprised not to find it in Ireland or the UK. ETA: Or St. Petersburg, Russia
Correct, but jelly is also the thing that Americans call ‘Jelly’ here (a preserve made from the clear strained juice of cooked fruit, boiled with sugar and set).
As far as I understand it (and ignoring the jello angle), jelly and jam are the same on both sides of the pond, it’s just that the catch-all term differs - in the UK, people are likely to say ‘jam’ when they mean preserves in general (including jam, jelly, conserve, compote etc), whereas (I think) people in the USA are likely to say jelly when they mean preserves in general.
Pudding is indeed a weird one; it means pretty much anything here in the UK including things that are sausages, pies, gateaux, dumplings, cakes and other desserts (as well as being a synonym for ‘dessert’ as a meal course) the one thing it never means is the milk custard thing that Americans call ‘pudding’.
In my experience, I’ve never heard anyone outside the USA call any jams or preserves “Jelly” unless they’re being somewhat condescending and “translating”. I guess I don’t know what “Jello” “Jelly” is here if it’s not the stuff from a little carton you add hot water to and pop in the fridge to set.
A car is a car everywhere yet often in the UK someone might say “You’ve got a good motor” and they’re talking about the entire auto-mobile and not just what’s under the hood bonnet. Yet all that is another thread. Though I’ll have to check out whatever English Jelly is if it’s not Jello and animal hooves aren’t an essential ingredient.
I think that’s just because, as I say, the generic or category term for preserves here is ‘jam’, but when you get down to specifics, ‘jelly’ is a thing - here’s an example:
Traditionally, the making of preserves is a competitive event at English country shows and ‘jelly’ is a specific category with very exacting standards - here’s an example of that: Croxley Green Annual Home & Produce Show - Jelly
Cool! I was eating a plain Waitrose - best supermarket krumpet - last week and my manager seemed stunned and I just shrugged and said I had no Jelly…err I mean Jam.
Ocado is upscale like Waitrose and of course if there’s homemade Jelly I can now firmly say, "Jelly is too a thing here!!
As I’ve said before, I make grape pie every year – often more than one.
To me, there isn’t anything like grape pie. I’ve made it from different varieties, when I can find them, but usually I make concord grape pie. * have a vine that yields enough for at least two pies.
Where do you find anyone else who makes pies? They’re so labor-intensive that I’ve never seen them in any stores. The only people I’ve seen selling them have roadside stands near Naples, NY.
I’d say it’s the opposite in the US where jelly is used as the generic term. We usually call any sandwich made with peanut butter and any kind of fruit spread a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Since this thread has been up I’ve done a fair bit of Xmas grocery shopping and keeping a weather eye out for anything in the grape jam / jelly / conserve / partly gelatinated non-dairy gum-based fruit spread line.
I can now confidently report that no such thing exists in the three leading supermarket chains in Australia or any of our fine delicatessens and fancy food shoppes.
That is despite every other fruit imaginable being jammed and sold.
We have many different fruit spreads available, but concord grape is comfort food and so common here. I have a giant jar in the refrigerator to go with my honey roasted crunchy peanut butter for sandwiches.
That’what a I thought ( and suggested a bit further upthread) - jam and jelly exist on both sides of the pond and are, within the context of preserves, approximately the same; what differs is the category term
Also, Sicilians use orange flower water, introduced by the Arabs. It’s called zagara, from Arabic زهرة zahrah, ‘flower’. I make some awesome Sicilian cookies with it.