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 that’s why I don’t 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 it’s good to use in orange sauce to go with duck).
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Seville oranges are landscape plants around here. I think they’re great for marmalade and marinades, and they smell better than any other orange.
I wonder if there’s a legal definition for jam in the US…
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More than you could possibly want to study. 
Never met a jam, jelly, preserve or butter I didn’t like…just 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. I’ve 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 - it’s 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 it’s peppers, but otherwise prefer to eat stone fruit jam when it’s in season. CI has a simple recipe for making small batches without much sugar, but it doesn’t 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 don’t think I’ve ever seen them here in California! I’m 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 they’re 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. I’m a chia fan
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Sevilles are more frost tolerant than lot of citrus, I have no idea if they’re grafted onto other root stock, but they’re pretty darn robust. Do you see ‘decorative landscape’ orange trees around? Those are probably Sevilles. Hard to believe there aren’t any in CA, but they’re usually free for the picking. In my ‘hood, they tend to be around doctors’ and dentists’ offices for some reason. And banks. They’re usually called sour oranges, because they are, and folks don’t 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. I’m 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. I’ve made freezer marmalade with them a few times.
I’ve 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 Grütze ( 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!
You’ve reminded me of preserved figs. NOT fig preserves! I use an Edna Lewis recipe.
Here’s 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 “pan de higo” (literally fig bread, but it’s 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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