Canning Jams, Jellies, and Other Preserves (And 100+ Recipes to Get You Started!)

When I worked at a fruit stand eons ago, people regularly asked, “What’s the difference between jam and jelly?” If you’re planning to transform some of this year’s fruit crop into a sweet spread, you’ll need to know the difference between the two.

Originally published June 2018; this post has been updated.

Think about what you like to spread on your morning toast. Do you like a sheen of fruity sweetness that spreads evenly across your toasted bread? Or do you prefer a chunkier, lumpy spread with fruit bits and maybe even little seeds?

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THAT’S the difference between jam and jelly!

Jelly is an almost-transparent sweet spread. It’s made from strained fruit juice. One of the reasons some people prefer jelly is that it doesn’t have any seeds. All of the seeds and fruit pulp is strained out to make a fresh fruit juice. (It’s probably the most important difference between jam and jelly for denture wearers and those who are sensitive to tiny seeds.)

You can also use ready-made juice, such as the 100% grape juice that’s available at grocery stores.

Jam, on the other hand, utilizes the entire fruit — seeds (in the case of berries), skins, and all. To make jam, you cook down the fruit and mash it, creating a lovely pulp that can be turned into jam. Seedless jams utilize the pulp, making a thicker end product than jelly that’s free of seeds.

So, the difference between jam and jelly in a nutshell: 

• Jelly: Made from fruit juice
• Jam: Made from the entire fruit, crushed into a pulp

Jams and jellies are one of the absolute easiest methods of preserving fruit and a great way to delve into home food preservation. The home canning process is easy. All it takes is some mixing and cooking, and a quick water bath for filled jars and you’ll have a pantry full of jellies and jams made with fresh, local produce. 

What is Pectin?

You’ll find that many recipes for canning jam and jelly call for pectin. Pectin is derived from fruits and vegetables — it’s a type of starch — and it acts as a thickener. In order for pectin to do its thickening magic, it requires sugar, acid (from the fruit), and heat.

If you want to avoid added sugar entirely, consider trying fruit butters, as those are thickened by cooking ingredients down until enough evaporation occurs to create a thick product.

When I make jams and jellies, I like to use Pomona brand pectin, since it allows me to use less sugar and doesn’t include GMO ingredients. It’s also possible to make your own pectin from natural ingredients. Making jam and jelly from fruits that are naturally high in pectin is another way to circumvent the need for pectin.

Many apples, grapes, plums, and raspberries are high in pectin and can be made without the use of added pectin. Even so, I generally opt to use a pectin product. Why? It is faster, it’s more reliable, and I don’t lose volume in order to reduce the fruit spread.

Fruit Butter, Preserves, and Chutney

Jelly and jam are probably the most recognizable fruit spreads, but there are some others to consider, too.

Fruit preserves are similar to jam, but generally have larger pieces of fruit or whole fruit, in the case of berries.

While jam and jelly is often thickened with pectin, fruit butters are cooked down, evaporating the liquid until it’s a thick spread. Because the fruit flavor is condensed, it’s easy to make fruit butters unsweetened or just lightly sweetened.

Chutney is a condiment that’s a bit like a cross between relish and jam. They tend to be sweet and savory, and are frequently served alongside Indian food such as curries. You probably wouldn’t use chutney in a sandwich with peanut butter.

Preserving Jams and Jellies (or not)

A homemade batch of jam or jelly, preserves or fruit butter, usually makes several quarts. It will keep for a month or so in the refrigerator, but that’s more than my family can go through in a reasonable amount of time.

If you’ve got a larger family that can power through a good amount of jam or jelly in a short amount of time, by all means, just tuck the jars into the refrigerator. For the rest of us, there are two ways to preserve fruit spreads so that they’ll take us through the winter. (There is nothing — nothing — like opening a jar of homemade blackberry jam in the depths of winter!)

• Freezer jams and jellies: These recipes are cooked and thickened, then cooled and stored in the freezer.
• Canned jams and jellies: Again, these are cooked and thickened, but the filled canning jars are processed in a water bath canner. If you opt to preserve your fruit spreads, it’s crucial that you follow safe canning guidelines and use recipes developed with those guidelines in mind. More on the canning process here.

Now that you understand the difference between jam and jelly, you might be inspired to try making some of your own from fresh fruit.

Here are 100+ recipes for jam, jelly, fruit butter, preserves, and even chutney. Your pantry is going to be stunning!

Jelly Recipes

Oh, so smooth! Jelly spreads easily and thinly across sliced bread, making the difference between jam and jelly easily visible, especially if you compare them side-by-side.

• Grape Jelly [Attainable Sustainable]
• Passion Fruit Jelly [Attainable Sustainable]
• Crabapple Jelly [Grow a Good Life]
• Redcurrant Jelly [Lovely Greens]
• Hard Apple Cider Jelly [Grow Forage Cook Ferment]
• Hot Pepper Jelly [The Prairie Homestead]
• Apple Mint Jelly [Brown Thumb Mama]
• Hedgerow Jelly [Lovely Greens]
• Kudzu Jelly [The Nerdy Farm Wife]
• Creamsicle Jelly [Food in Jars]
• Violet Jelly [The Nerdy Farm Wife]
• Honeysuckle Jelly [New Life on a Homestead]
• Meyer Lemon Lavender Jelly [Homespun Seasonal Living]
• Crabapple Jelly [Learning and Yearning]
• Corn Cob Jelly [Homestead Lady]
• Beautyberry Jelly [Hearth and Vine]
• Strawberry Jelly [Food 52]
• Forsythia Jelly [The Free Range Life]
• Sea Grape Jelly [Authentic Florida]
• Wild Plum Jelly [Bren Did]
• Hawthorne Jelly [Eat Weeds]
• Apple Pie Chai Jelly [Joybilee Farm]
• Wild Rose Jelly [Nitty Gritty Life]

Jam recipes

The chunky bits of fruit (or veggies!) that make up these homemade spreads are the difference between jam and jelly. These jams generally go on a bit more thickly, due to the texture of the ingredients.

• Cherry Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Pineapple Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Caramelized Onion Jam  [Attainable Sustainable]
• Easy Plum Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Rhubarb Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Seedless Tamarillo Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Mango Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Blueberry Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Strawberry Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Blackberry Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Seedless Jaboticaba Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Tomato Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Tangerine Ginger Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Pineapple Jalapeno Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Sour Cherry Jam [Garden Therapy]
• Honey Sweetened Blueberry Jam [100 Days of Real Food]
• Rhubarb Mint Jam [Homespun Seasonal Living]
• Sweet Cherry Jam [Grow a Good Life]
• Homemade Raspberry Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Blackberry Jam without Pectin [It’s My Sustainable Life]
• Strawberry Rhubarb Jam [Attainable Sustainable]
• Fig Jam with Ouzo [Hunter Angler Gardener Cook]
• Strawberry Freezer Jam [Don’t Waste the Crumbs]
• Elderberry and Strawberry Jam [Mommypotamus]
• Blueberry Lavender Jam [Nitty Gritty Life]
• Mixed Berry Jam [104 Homestead]

• Raspberry Lemon Jam [Urban Overalls]
• Fig Jam [Garden Therapy]
• Pineapple Jam [Accidental Happy Baker]
• Strawberry Chia Seed Jam [Oh, The Things We’ll Make!]
• Pineapple Papaya Jam [The Peach Kitchen]
• Clementine Jam {The View from Great Island]
• Easy Tomato Jam [The Suburban Soapbox]
• Pomegranate Jam [Cafe Fernando]
• Apricot Mango Jam [Simone’s Kitchen]
• Pear and Lemon Jam [The Cottage Smallholder]
• Kiwi Jam [One Acre Vintage Home]

Fruit Preserves

Similar to jam, fruit preserves generally have larger chunks of fruit or whole berries.

• Strawberry Compote [Attainable Sustainable]
• Apricot Preserves [Attainable Sustainable]
• Peach Preserves [Attainable Sustainable]
• Ginger Pear Preserves [Attainable Sustainable]
• Quince Preserves [Nitty Gritty Life]
• Strawberry-Honey Preserves [They’re Not Our Goats]
• Brandied Cherry Berry Preserves [Homespun Seasonal Living]
• Peach Preserves [Of Batter and Dough]
• Blueberry Preserves [The Creekside Cook]
• Sweet Cherry Preserves [The Kitchen Magpie]
• Fig Preserves [Flour on my Face]
• Tomato Preserves [Pratesi Living]
• Coconut Lime Preserves [Saveur]
• Pumpkin Preserves [The Recipe Hunters]
• Strawberry Preserves [Lord Byron’s Kitchen]
• Black Cherry Preserves [Attainable Sustainable]

Fruit Butters

Because the fruit flavor is condensed by cooking it down — different than making jam or jelly —  it’s easy to make fruit butters unsweetened or just lightly sweetened.

• Peach Butter [Attainable Sustainable]
• Pear Butter [Attainable Sustainable]
• Spiced Apple Butter [Food in Jars]
• Crabapple Butter [104 Homestead]
• Oven Roasted Nectarine Butter [Food in Jars]
• Plum Butter [Nitty Gritty Life]
• Nectarine Maple Vanilla Butter [Homespun Seasonal Living]
• Spiced Plum Butter [Food in Jars]
• Spiced Apple Butter [Grow Forage Cook Ferment]
• Apricot Butter [Garden Therapy]
• Spiced Pear Butter [Premeditated Leftovers]

Marmalade

Most often made with citrus, marmalade is a bit jam-like, with the inclusion of the strongly flavored citrus skins. 

• Lemon Marmalade [Attainable Sustainable]
• Whiskey and Honey Marmalade [Nourished Kitchen]

Sweet and Savory Chutneys

A bit like a cross between relish and jam, chutnies tend to be sweet and savory, and are frequently served alongside Indian food such as curries.

• Mango Chutney [Attainable Sustainable]
• Tomato Chutney [Attainable Sustainable]
• Green Tomato Chutney [Lovely Greens]
• Raisin Chutney [Food Renegade]
• Apple Chutney [Simply Canning]
• Pineapple Papaya Chutney [Oh Lardy]
• Indian Mint Chutney [Scratch Mommy]
• Cilantro Mint Chutney [My Heart Beets]
• Fermented Fruit Chutney [Real Food Outlaws]
• Cranberry Orange Chutney [It Takes Time]
• Persimmon and Pear Chutney [Food in Jars]
• Apple Peach Chutney [Hillbilly Housewife]
• Spiced Pear Chutney [Family Feedbag]
• Spiced Plum Chutney [Jamie Oliver]

Now that you know the difference between jam and jelly, which do YOU prefer?? 

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