What's the Difference Between Jelly, Jam, and Fruit Preserves? (2024)

All three are fruity and delicious!

By Ariana Phillips TessierPublished: Apr 27, 2021

What's the Difference Between Jelly, Jam, and Fruit Preserves? (1)

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You may not have paid much attention to that jar of fruit spread that you slather on your peanut butter sandwich, but check the label: Is it jelly, jam, or preserves? All three contain fruit and sugar that has been cooked down until pectin, which is naturally found in fruit, helps to thicken it. Sometimes, powdered pectin is added to thicken the mixture even more, but the process of making these jars of fruity goodness is very similar. There's really just one major difference between jelly vs. jam vs. preserves: the amount of actual fruit used in the mixture!

Whatever you’re using, jelly, jam, and preserves are all delicious. Use a jar of any of the three varieties along with some

strawberry butter on your morning toast. Or, put some on crostini, bake sweet oatmeal bars with a thin layer in the mix, or use a little bit for a savory application, like this pork tenderloin.

If you’re interested in making your own jam at home, Ree Drummond has been known to dabble in canning—check out her tutorial for homemade strawberry jam and how to can it. You can use this technique with any of your favorite berries. If you don’t want to deal with canning, try this freezer jam recipe (no cooking required!).

But before you start sterilizing jars and breaking out your canning equipment, read on to learn more about the differences between jelly, jam, and fruit preserves!

Welch's Concord Grape Jelly

$14 at Walmart

What is jelly?

Jelly is what you’ll commonly find near the peanut butter at the grocery store. The sweet fruity spread is made by cooking fruit juice with sugar and acid (and sometimes, pectin, the thickening agent that helps jelly, well… gel!). Once the fruit juice mixture gets cooked down, it’s strained to remove any fruit or seeds, leaving you with a smooth, transparent spread free of any solids. Jelly isn't loose like jam and preserves—it's almost gelatin-like. Grape jelly is a classic, but many other fruits are available in jelly form, including apple, strawberry and other berries. Bright green mint jelly is a popular choice with meat!

Smucker's Strawberry Jam

What is jam?

Much like jelly, jam is also cooked with sugar and acid, but the difference is that it uses fruit (either chopped, crushed, or pureed) instead of fruit juice. Pectin is also sometimes added, but jams tend to be slightly looser in consistency compared to jellies and have more texture from the addition of fruit. Some jams contain seeds, peels, or chunks of fruit, but not always. Jam doesn't necessarily have to be sweet either—chutney is savory and is often flavored with vinegar and spices.

Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves

$8 at Amazon

What are preserves?

Fruit preserves are a lot like jam, but they’re slightly thicker, thanks to the addition of large chunks or whole pieces of fruit instead of chopped, crushed, or puréed fruit. You’ll usually find large bits of fruit suspended in preserves, as well as seeds, in many cases. Marmalade, which is made with citrus, is considered to be a preserve because it contains parts of the rind as well as the inner fruit and pulp.