Jelly, often confused with or used interchangeably with Jam, really its quite different. Jelly is traditionally produced using just fruit juice and should be the firmest and smoothest of all the various fruit spreads. The juice extraction and straining process usually results in a clear liquid and will probably require the addition of powdered pectin and some sort of an acid to help it achieve the firmness jelly is known for.

A classic example would be the comparison of the timeless holiday staple, Cranberry sauce. The stuff that slide out of the can in a perfect cylinder with the ridges from the can shape still intact is actually Cranberry Jelly. The Cranberry sauce you pour out of the can during the holidays and contains large pieces of or whole cranberries is actually a Jam.