Sweet preparations from fruits and berries are very popular in the world. Preserves, confiture, jam are often added to baked goods, served with tea and coffee, eaten with pancakes, cereals, etc. Each tasty preparation has its own characteristic features and characteristics.
Primarily Russian cuisine: jam
Jam, as many culinary historians believe, appeared in Ancient Russia (according to less popular versions, in the East). In those days, instead of the usual sugar today, honey was added to the product during cooking or it was cooked by boiling for many hours without any additives. The result is a delicious, sweet piece with whole berries.
It is the leaving of berries / fruits in their original (or cut) form that is the main distinguishing feature of the jam. The chunks in the thick, sweet syrup retain many vitamins. Therefore, it is jam that is considered the most useful delicacy for colds. Most often, raspberry or cranberry is used as a "medicine".
A relative of jam from England - jam
Jem appeared in the British Isles. The name of the delicacy comes from the word “jam” - “to press”, “to mix”. As you can see from the translation, berries and fruits undergo serious mechanical processing, and do not remain intact. As a result, the jam is a smooth, sweet mass. Fruits / berries are boiled in sugar syrup for a long time until the treat gets the required texture.
Not all berries or fruits are suitable for making jam. Mostly used are those that are distinguished by a high content of pectin - with its help, the mass is well gelled and becomes denser. Therefore, most often you can find jam from apples, black currants, quince, etc. This delicacy is very popular in England, Ireland, Scotland: jam is eaten for breakfast with toast and butter.
Confiture is a French invention
The jam was invented in France. This product has a very dense consistency, which is obtained due to the addition of additional substances during the preparation process (for example, agar-agar, pectin, etc.). When cooking confiture, both whole / lumpy and finely chopped ingredients are used. It should be noted that the sweet product never contains gelatin, because when heated, it loses its properties.
Features of treats
Thus, it can be seen that jam, and preserves, and confiture have both common features and differences. The former are reflected in the methods of preparation and ingredients. All sweet preparations are obtained by boiling in syrup with the addition of honey or sugar. Jam, preserves and confiture can be made from both berries and fruits.
The differences lie in the consistency of the dishes. The jam is more liquid, consists of fruit / berry-sugar syrup and pieces. Jam is dense and uniform. Due to the addition of special substances, the jam is more like jelly. It can contain both highly chopped foods and whole foods.
