Which do you prefer? And what do you spread it on?
Except for jalapeno jelly, I tend to like preserves, especially apricot or raspberry
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Whichever contains the most fruit and least sugar. The latter is almost impossible thatâs why I donât buy industrial (or made by anyone else, really) preserves.
One of my favourites is kumquat.
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Jam has a legal definition in the UK, meaning it has to have 60% sugars (including fruit sugars). Preserves & conserves have no legal definition but the names seem to carry a certain cachet suggesting a better quality product.
I buy jams because the higher sugar content means the jar will last as long as we need it to, just in the cupboard. Generally, strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant which get spread on breakfast bread or toast. Raspberry is perfect for the filling in a Victoria sponge cake (my companion in life is the baker of the couple).
If I go to IKEA for something, I usually buy their lingonberry jam which is very sharp and makes a nice addition to, say, a red wine sauce to go with game.
I make my own Seville orange marmalade for the breakfast toast (but itâs good to use in orange sauce to go with duck).
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Seville oranges are landscape plants around here. I think theyâre great for marmalade and marinades, and they smell better than any other orange.
I wonder if thereâs a legal definition for jam in the USâŠ
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More than you could possibly want to study. 
Never met a jam, jelly, preserve or butter I didnât likeâŠjust diff degrees of like.
These two are precious but my favorite brands:
BRINS
V Smileys Preserves
My sister makes a strawberry and rhubarb jam that is so delicious. My wife enjoys chia freezer jams made during berry season.
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I love the bitterness that still comes through all the sugar. Iâve just made my annual batch. It uses just 1kg oranges, 2kg sugar, 1 lemon, and water. I enjoy shredding the peel into what is, for me, perfect thickness - itâs one of those kitchen jobs that is really just calming therapy.
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My MIL loves the bitter (vs sweet) kind of orange marmalade. Where do you get Seville oranges?
I also prefer jelly when itâs peppers, but otherwise prefer to eat stone fruit jam when itâs in season. CI has a simple recipe for making small batches without much sugar, but it doesnât keep long.
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Both supermarket chains that we shop at have them , in 1kg boxes, at this time of year.
Wow! I donât think Iâve ever seen them here in California! Iâm going to have to try to figure out why that might be.
ETA Apparently some specialty places grow them here but they have a short season and are not commercially successful.
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Oooooh- thanks for the link, Rooster!
Oh lord, I never had rhubarb until I was in my 30s, but theyâre one of my favorit flavors ever. Guess my mom would have disagreed.
And using chia as a thickener is pretty genius- gonna have to look tht up. Iâm a chia fan
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Sevilles are more frost tolerant than lot of citrus, I have no idea if theyâre grafted onto other root stock, but theyâre pretty darn robust. Do you see âdecorative landscapeâ orange trees around? Those are probably Sevilles. Hard to believe there arenât any in CA, but theyâre usually free for the picking. In my âhood, they tend to be around doctorsâ and dentistsâ offices for some reason. And banks. Theyâre usually called sour oranges, because they are, and folks donât like sour oranges (but I do).
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My pleasure.
This is the 3 ingredient chia jam recipe.
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I did find places in California that will ship them; interestingly enough they are in Central and Southern California. I am in Northern California and we have orange trees in almost every yard in my neighborhood, but none that look like Seville. Iâm pretty sure this whole town was a variety of orchards at some point, before it became more profitable to build houses.
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We have Seville oranges imported to Canada from Spain from January to March at specialty grocers. I would think someone in northern CA would carry them. Iâve made freezer marmalade with them a few times.
Iâve not seen Seville oranges grown in the States in Canada.
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I mostly make freezer jam. I like this black currant recipe. https://www.davidlebovitz.com/black-currant-jam-recipe/
I use purchased apricot jam for quite a few recipes.
In terms of preserves and conserves, I keep several European ones in the fridge. I currently have Greek sour cherry spoon sweets (fruit in syrup), quince spoon sweets, Schwartau brand Rote GrĂŒtze ( I really like Schwartau products), Lingonberries, Hungarian sour cherry preserves and Scotch marmalade open in the fridge. I like Darbo jams from Austria, a lot, too.
I like a smear of cherry or apricot jam with brie or cheddar on my toast lately.
I mostly end up using jellies to glaze duck.
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Nice!
Youâve reminded me of preserved figs. NOT fig preserves! I use an Edna Lewis recipe.
Hereâs a recent batch from my Desert King tree. Indulge me please; its my pride and joy. I love my kids too.
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You might want to look up the Spanish âpan de higoâ (literally fig bread, but itâs not a bread). Real nice with a blue cheese, IMO.
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I love those figs in the egg carton
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