(This one is a little out of order, because I wanted to start with the obvious ingredients first, but you can wait until tomorrow, right? 
)
So, the night of my debut I met a very admirable guy named Robbie who posed an simple yet common question: “what’s the difference between jams and jellies and preserves? I’ve always wondered about that!”
Well my dear Robbie I promised you I would have your answer, AND I will even throw in marmalades and compotes as a bonus just for being the first “reader’s choice” question on the blog, haha.
The two main differences are the method of cooking which leads to their varying textures.
Jam is made by boiling fruit and sugar, yielding a thick, soft consistency with fruit pieces
Jelly is made by boiling sugar, fruit juice and gelatin/pectin; when cooled it results in a smooth, translucent, congealed substance capable of maintaining its own form (thanks to the gelatin)
Marmalade* is a type of jelly that includes fruit rind (usually citrus) providing a stronger flavor
Preserves are in-between jam and jelly: made with pectin and medium, large, or whole fruit pieces
Compote is slow-cooked fruit in a sugar syrup, sometimes with liquor and spices, textured similar to jam
*Fun Fact: the word marmalade comes from the Portuguese word marmelada which means quince** jam
**Fun Fact #2: quince is a yellow-skinned fruit looks that and tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. The hard, yellowish-white flesh is quite dry and has an astringent, tart flavor. Its texture and flavor make it better cooked than raw, and because of its high pectin content it’s particularly popular for use in jams, jellies and preserves.
Not that it’s extremely relevant, but I tend to like jams/preserves/compotes better than marmalades/jellies. I like the contrast of the fruit pieces in the jams, but not the sharp taste of the rind in marmalade.
That was a simplistic overview, and I will get more into flavor profiles and applications in cupcake-making of the jam-jelly-marmalade-preserve-compote pentagon as I continue experimenting with recipes. Robbie, that was for you! Make sure you let me know you read it and if I can demistify anything else!
