You probably know that what we call ‘jam’ the Americans call ‘jelly.’
We might talk about a peanut butter and jam sandwich, but the Yanks will say a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
(Which for us can paint a weird picture in our minds, of a sandwich that is wobbling and filled with Aeroplane Jelly ®!)
The last time I mentioned this someone asked: if they call jam ‘jelly’ then what do they call the dessert that we call jelly?
They answer is, they call it ‘Jell-O’ (which started out as a proprietary name and has now become a generic name.)
Anyway, back to the ‘jam’ versus ‘jelly’ question.
Why do they do this?
Well, some Americans claim there is a difference between ‘jam’ and ‘jelly’—that when only fruit juice is set into a sandwich or toast spread (using the pectin in the fruit as a setting agent) then the result is called ‘jelly’—while if fruit pulp is present it is called ‘jam.’
And according to the American Merriam-Webster Dictionary they do have the word ‘jam’ in American English where they define it as: ‘a product made by boiling fruit and sugar to a thick consistency without preserving the shape of the fruit.’
If the shape of the fruit is preserved, they would call it ’conserve’ just as we do.
But I have to admit that I have only ever come across the word ‘jelly’ meaning ‘jam’ in American speech.
The Merriam-Webster defines ‘jelly’ as ‘a semitransparent easily melted food preparation having a soft somewhat elastic consistency due to the presence of gelatine, pectin, or a similar substance.’
I have concluded that the Americans are just plain confused about this.
And in support I offer the following definition of ‘jam’ which most of us will recognise: ‘a conserve of fruit prepared by boiling it with sugar to a pulp’ (Oxford English Dictionary).
In other words, in English (in real English, not American English) ‘jam’ and ‘conserve’ mean much the same (although I seem to remember my mother saying ‘conserve’ had whole fruit).
But, it seems, that for Americans if there is any fruit pulp in the ‘jam’ they will insist that it is ‘jelly.’
As I said—they are just plain confused about this.
And as far as logic is concerned, ‘jam’ wins every time, because you can’t spread toast with anything that is really ‘jelly’!
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And here's my latest column for Sky News -- on how to fix the ABC: My solution to fix the ABC’s ‘middle class welfare’ culture entails a carve up of radio stations, privatising television network | Sky News Australia
The latest issue of Australian Geographic is out now (with the humpback whale on the cover) -- inside are my two small columns on 'Placenames' (looking at 'Pukatja/Ernabella') and 'Ozwords' (this time about 'selfie').
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
I have just taken part in Jenny Wheeler's podcast "The Joys of Binge Reading." You can listen to the conversation here:
https://thejoysofbingereading.com/kel-richards-country-house-mysteries/
I have signed the anti-Semitism pledge, and I encourage you to do the same. You can sign the letter here: www.saynotoantisemitism.org
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
BOOKS:
* My latest book is -- "Defending the Gospel" (second, fully revised, edition). You can find it here: Defending the Gospel – matthiasmedia.com.au
* If you're looking for my recent book "Flash Jim" you'll find it here -- Flash Jim, The astonis
hing story of the convict fraudster who wrote Australia's first dictionary by Kel Richards | 9781460759769 | Booktopia
* You can find all Kel's books currently in print here -- Booktopia Search Results for 'kel richards'. We sell books, hardback, paperback, audio, CDs.
* And also here -- Amazon.com.au : Kel Richards
* And you'll find more here -- Search: 4 results found for "Kel Richards" – matthiasmedia.com.au
* Many of Kel's out of print books can be found at ABE Books -- Kel Richards - AbeBooks
