# What's the difference between jelly, jam and preserves? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 25, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507 "2006-12-25T04:11:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/1 "2006-12-25T04:11:02Z")
The title pretty much says it all. Thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/2 "2006-12-25T04:21:12Z")
Well, jelly is different from either in that it has no fruit pieces, and is thus smoother and (in my opinion) more palatable. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/3 "2006-12-25T04:30:25Z")
Jelly is a clear gel of pectin, and fruit juice, with enough sugar to discourage bacterial growth, and leave a sticky mess on your fingers if you put too much on your sammich. Jam is fruit cooked with sugar and pectin pretty much like jelly, but not strained, and all the fruit left in, but pretty much cooked to bits. It usually has a bit less sugar than jelly, sometimes less pectin as well. Preserves are fruit in syrup, cooked until sterile, with or without pectin, and the physical character of the fruit left intact to at least some extent. The amount of syrup varies greatly from one recipe to another. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/4 "2006-12-25T05:35:12Z")
Jelly is a huge pain in the ass to make and you use a jelly sock. You strain everything out of it that you’d really want to eat, and you leave something pretty that’s utterly divorced from the actual food you used to make it. Preserves are what God eats for breakfast. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/5 "2006-12-25T17:29:34Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Jelly is a huge pain in the ass to make and you use a jelly sock. You strain everything out of it that you’d really want to eat, and you leave something pretty that’s utterly divorced from the actual food you used to make it. Preserves are what God eats for breakfast. 😉 [/QUOTE] Aye, aye. Forget the facts, that is the thruth. ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/6 "2006-12-25T18:00:52Z")
So where does marmalade fit into all of this? ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/7 "2006-12-25T18:14:02Z")
[QUOTE=drillrod] So where does marmalade fit into all of this? [/QUOTE] Marmalade has tiny pieces of rind in the fruit mixture. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/8 "2006-12-25T18:19:30Z")
One major difference for me is that orange jelly tastes sweet like orange jello, while orange jam and preserves are puckery like marmalade. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/9 "2006-12-25T18:28:46Z")
Don’t forget [conserves.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam) “A conserve is a preserve made with two or three contrasting fruits, or with two fruits and a fruit or nut butter, or a mix of fruits and nut.” ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/10 "2006-12-25T18:56:23Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Preserves are what God eats for breakfast. 😉 [/QUOTE] I do not. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/11 "2006-12-25T18:59:16Z")
It _must_ be jelly, 'cause jam don’t shake like that. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/12 "2006-12-25T19:03:52Z")
Thanks for the bit about conserves. I was thinking that I’d recently read somewhere that preserves had nuts–though this goes against my every instinct. And while we’re talking about bottled things, don’t forget pickles. Some combination of salt, sugar, vinegar, and spices. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/13 "2006-12-26T08:55:50Z")
> [@CC](#): > > I do not. But are you God? ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/14 "2006-12-26T09:25:25Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] It _must_ be jelly, 'cause jam don’t shake like that. [/QUOTE] blech ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/15 "2006-12-26T14:30:59Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] But are you God? [/QUOTE] Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/16 "2006-12-28T19:45:57Z")
OOoooooh, cool. I always wanted to ask You: Can You make a stone so heavy that You can’t lift it? ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/17 "2006-12-29T00:03:09Z")
What’s ‘Apple Butter’? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/18 "2006-12-29T00:13:20Z")
Firstly, jam has pieces of fruit in it, and preserves might not necessarily be fruit at all, they can also be vegetables. [QUOTE=Mangosteen] What’s ‘Apple Butter’? [/QUOTE] It’s a spread, usually very cinnamony, brown in color. It tastes like strong, very very sweet cinnamony applesauce, but is much smoother in consistency. Somehow it’s not too sweet, and not cloying IMO. It’s good, try some! ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/19 "2006-12-29T00:16:15Z")
**CC** Please drop a big stone on **Eledil’s Heir**. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507/20 "2006-12-29T03:53:11Z")
[QUOTE=Triskadecamus] **CC** Please drop a big stone on **Eledil’s Heir**. Thank you. [/QUOTE] Calling down divine wrath on a fellow Doper is not cool, man. NOT cool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-difference-between-jelly-jam-and-preserves/385507.md?page=2)