Fruit preserves

Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits whose main preserving agent is sugar and sometimes acid, often stored in glass jars and used as a condiment or spread. There are many varieties of fruit preserves globally, distinguished by the method of preparation, type of fruit used, and place in a meal. Sweet fruit preserves such as jams, jellies, and marmalades are often eaten at breakfast with bread or as an ingredient of a pastry or dessert, whereas more savory and acidic preserves made from "vegetable fruits" such as tomato, squash or zucchini, are eaten alongside savory foods such as cheese, cold meats, and curries. There are several techniques of making jam, with or without added water. One factor depends on the natural pectin content of the ingredients. When making jam with low pectin fruits like strawberries either high pectin fruit like orange can be added, or additional pectin in the form of pectin powder, citric acid or citrus peels. Often the fruit will be heated gently in a pan to release its juices (and pectin), sometimes with a little added water, before the sugar is added. Another method is to macerate the fruits in sugar overnight and cooking this down to a syrup. The term preserves is usually interchangeable with jams even though preserves contain chunks or pieces of the fruit whereas jams in some regions do not. Closely related names include: chutney, confit, conserve, fruit butter, fruit curd, fruit spread, jelly, cheese, leather and marmalade. Some cookbooks define preserves as cooked and gelled whole fruit (or vegetable), which includes a significant portion of the fruit. In the English-speaking world, the two terms are more strictly differentiated and, when this is not the case, the more usual generic term is 'jam'. The singular preserve or conserve is used as a collective noun for high fruit content jam, often for marketing purposes. Additionally, the name of the type of fruit preserves will also vary depending on the regional variant of English being used.