Et de la confiture. Here are three pots (jars) of... what exactly? Two jars contain gelée (jelly) and one contains confiture (jam). Gelées are clear with no pieces of fruit in them. Confitures are made with chopped or crushed fruit. Then there are preserves, which are made like jams, but with bigger or even whole pieces of fruit in them. I'm not sure if they have a name for that in French or if they're in the same category as confiture.
While we don't eat an awful lot of jellies or jams, we always have several varieties in the house. Ken has made batches of jelly over the years, mostly prune (plum), but also coing (quince) and pomme (apple). We also buy jellies and jams from commercial producers. Bonne Maman is a familiar brand to many Americans, but there are others, including store brands. They're all very good. In addition to eating jellies and jams with peanut butter, or spread on toast, I use them as glazes for home-made fruit tarts. And the sturdy jars come in handy for all kinds of things (including home-made jellies and jams), so we save some for re-use.
PS - All of my information comes from very painstaking quick and dirty internet research. Take it for what it's worth.
Here are my two cents:
ReplyDeleteit seems we don’t have jam in French, only preserves = confitures. For instance, strawberries get naturally mashed by the cooking process, whereas pitted cherries stay whole. Both are confitures, though. Orange marmalade is confiture d’orange. In Korea they have what i would call confiture de pomme not to be confused with gelée de pomme. In Bar-le-Duc in Lorraine in Northeastern France, they have a specialty of red currant preserves (confiture) with seeds removed by hand!
P.S. Bonne Maman means grandmother. Grandmother = grand mère.
DeleteAlthough I know there are a number of words, there’s a tendency here to call everything mermelada. (I want the one in the middle.)
ReplyDeleteI like the Paquito label :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that Bonne maman means grandmother. Thanks for that, CHM.
ReplyDeleteYes, Evelyn. When I was a todler, I could not pronunce the whole Bonne maman and I called my granmother Boban. That stuck and everybody called her Boban wether or not they knew what it meant!
DeleteLove that story, CHM!
DeleteOur Bonne Maman jars lids have the same pattern, but in red. I wonder why the difference? They make excellent jars for home-made jam too; the lids are metal and seal tightly. // I switched browsers, so we'll see if my comment shows up.
ReplyDeleteThere are also blue and brown lids. Same pattern. The makers of Bonne Maman have another brand which is Andros. I have never seen them in the U.S. In Paris, I buy Andros Apricot jam in jars that are at least twice the Bonne Maman’s.
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