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A jelly is a sweet or savoury food gel, usually made through the addition of gelatin or pectin to edible liquids.

Contents 1 Usage of term 2 Types of jelly 3 History 4 Chemistry

The word jelly has different meanings in the English-speaking world. almost exclusively to spreads consisting of firmed fruit juice preparations made with pectin. The usual U.S. distinction between jelly and jam is that the latter contains visible seeds or pieces of fruit, whereas the former does not. Jam is also often thicker and more spreadable. The traditional procedure for making jelly calls for the cooked ingredients to be put into a cloth bag. The liquid that drains through the bag without squeezing can be made into a transparent jelly. Jam by contrast is made from the whole fruit and liquid after cooking. Gelatin desserts are not ordinarily referred to as "jelly" in the US, and it is rare (though not unheard of) to use the term for savoury foods of any description. A product such as Jell-O would never be called jelly in the US. Mayhaw jelly is a delicacy in parts of the American South.

In cooking, a variety of terms are used to classify pectin-based jellies:

• "True" jellies are smooth-textured and made from fruit juice, such as grape jelly.
• Jams contain both fruit juice and pieces of the fruit's flesh. Jams are also called preserves.
• Marmalades are jams that contain some of the fruit's rind or peel. Citrus fruits are commonly used in marmalades.
• Fruit butters, such as apple butter are sweet spreads made of fruit cooked to a paste and lightly sweetened.
• Fruit curds, such as lemon curd, contain eggs and butter as well as fruit and pectin and/or gelatin.
• A jelly roll is a US term for a Swiss roll.

Vegetarians and Vegans make jellies using agar, which is made from seaweed or grass jelly as opposed to animal collagen-based gelatin.

Jelly has been eaten since Ancient Egyptian times. It is mentioned in early Anglo-Saxon recipe books, and mass production began in the 19th century.

The first concentrated cube arrived in 1932, and by the early 1990s UK sales hit £37m per year.

In the UK "Ice cream and jelly" became an extremely popular after-dinner dessert, but has suffered a decline in that sense since the 1990s. It has continued to be popular at children's parties to this day.

Uncooked pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which must not be allowed to mix with a jelly mix as it will stop the jelly from setting properly by breaking down the gelatin. Papaya and pawpaw contain the enzyme papain, kiwi fruit contains actinidin, and figs contain ficin- all with similar effects. Cooking denatures the enzyme, rendering it inoperative.