Know Your Jams, Preserves & Marmalades?

Move over grape jelly, an array of sweet spreads are going far beyond traditional uses and exploding with new flavors and textures.

Laden with exotic fruits and berries, herbs, licorice, wine nuts and jalapeños, preserves and jams are taking the place of watery jellies while marmalades are jazzing it up with tropical fruits and even squash. These sweet spreads are mellowing out strong blue cheese, coupling with foie gras, glazing meats, topping yogurt and appearing in desserts and on hors d'oeuvre trays. Varieties include tropical flavors like passion fruit and mango, as well as up-and-coming flavors like quince and rose jam (made from rose hip berries) and combinations such as fig and ginger, raspberry quince and loquat mint.

Pepper jellies, once associated with holiday table trimmings, are becoming the ultimate sweet and savory condiment year-round. Fruity flavors with subtle heat such as hot pepper peach, hot pepper raspberry, key lime ginger wasabi and kiwi pineapple jalapeño fruit spread are new favorites. For those consumers who crave sweet-tart flavors, marmalades have even received makeovers with diverse and exotic flavors like mandarin pumpkin, pink grapefruit tea and even savory caramelized onion and blood orange.

Several jam-like condiments can complement cheese. Sour cherry with lemon balm paired with triple crème and goat cheeses, and preserves with pecans served over cream cheese make simple, delicious hors d'oeuvres.

So, what is the difference between various sweet spreads? In general, the ratio of fruit to sweeteners helps define jams, jellies, fruit butters and preserves. These Standards of Identity have been created by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers know what they are buying.

Here are the definitions:

JELLY: A clear, bright mixture made from fruit juice, sugar and often pectin or acid. A jelly must contain 45 percent to 47 percent fruit by weight.

JAM: A thick mixture of fruit and sugar and often pectin that is cooked until the pieces of fruit are soft and almost formless, like a thick purée. Like jelly, jams are made with a minimum of 45 percent of fruit solids combined with 55 percent of sugar.

PRESERVE: According to the Standards of Identity, a preserve must have at least 65 percent Brix, the unit of measurement of sugar solids that come from sweetener or fruit. Almost identical to a jam, preserve contains large chunks of fruit or whole fruit.

FRUIT SPREAD: Fruit spreads do not fall under the jelly or jam Standards of Identity and usually contain less than 65 percent Brix. Often, but not always, fruit spreads are made with fruit juice concentrates or low-calorie sweeteners replacing all or part of the sugar.

FRUIT BUTTER: A spread that is made by cooking fresh fruit with spices until it becomes thick and smooth. Fruit butter must have a ratio, by weight, of five parts fruit for each two parts sweetener.

MARMALADE: Like a preserve but contains some amount of fruit rind, usually from a citrus fruit.

CONSERVE: Like a preserve but usually contains more than one kind of fruit and often nuts.

Additional Sources: International Jelly & Preserve Association, Mintel.com, Code of Federal Regulations, FDA

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