Peanut butter and jam are two popular foods and often loved for their taste and texture. Although there are quite a few similarities, but lots of differences also. We are going to discuss about what’s the difference between peanut butter and jam?
The main difference between spread and jam is that the ingredients; spread contains a paste made up of roasted peanuts, while jam is really made up of various fruits.
Peanut butter and jam are popular spreads utilized in sandwiches. Adding either of those to your toasted or plain bread or crackers adds flavor. Not only do these two increase the flavor of your bread, but they even have many health benefits.
What is Peanut Butter?
Peanut butter as the name suggests is made from ground peanuts. The peanuts are usually ground dry roasted and the paste is then treated with hydrogenated vegetable oils, salt, sweeteners and dextrose.
It is available as the soft and crunchy varieties. If you buy peanut butter marked as organic or natural, it will only contain the peanut paste and salt.
Peanut butter is rich in proteins; in addition, it contains a good amount of resveratrol, an antioxidant. Apart from that, it also has other health benefits, including health-promoting ones.
Peanut butter is popular all over the world. In fact, the U.S. has National Peanut Butter Day. It can be used as a spread on bread, toast or crackers. It is also used to make sandwiches; for example sandwich with peanut butter and jam.
What is Jam?
Jam is a variety of fruit preservatives and may contain fruit juice or pieces of fruit. Sometimes certain meaty vegetables are also used to make jam. The fruit is cut into pieces, boiled and mashed or crushed. Additional sweeteners and preservatives can be added depending on the type of fruit used.
The heating process activates the pectin in the fruit. The most commonly used fruits for making jam are the smaller varieties such as berries and soft fruits.
Some popular fruit jams include strawberry, raspberry, cherry, blueberry, peach, and apricot. Jam is a good source of fast energy.
Key Differences: What’s the difference between peanut butter and jam?
Different types of peanut butter are available depending on the texture and ingredients used. The crunchy varieties are usually popular to eat with cookies and biscuits, while the soft peanut butter is preferred with sandwiches. Some types of peanut butter also use ingredients such as jelly and chocolate.
Jam is also available in different types. There are both uncooked and cooked jams. Those fruit jams that are cooked for less than five minutes are known as frozen jam and are stored in the freezers. Due to the minimal preparation, these jams have a fresher fruity taste and are preferred by more people. Very smooth textured jams are available that are almost like jellies.
In some parts of the world, the words jam and jelly are used interchangeably because of the smooth texture of the product. The other jam varieties have an irregular texture with the pulp and very small seeds.
| SL | Peanut butter | Jam |
| 01 | Peanut butter is a paste of ground roasted peanuts | Jam is a candy made by cooking fruit and sugar to a thick consistency |
| 02 | The main ingredient is peanuts | Different fruits such as strawberry, apricot, raspberry and peach |
| 03 | Mash roasted peanuts, resulting in a paste-like state | Mix the fruit with water and sugar and cook to create a jelly-like spread |
| 04 | A high-calorie food – 100 grams contains 589 calories | A good source of quick energy – 100 grams contains 250 calories |
| 05 | An excellent source of protein, it contains folate and dietary fiber | A good source of Vitamin C but little other nutritional value. |
| 06 | There are known health benefits of consuming peanut butter | But there is no fact for jam. |
Make Jam and Peanut Butter at Home
It’s very easy to make both jam and peanut butter at home, but most people prefer to make jam at home. This can be made depending on the seasonal fruit in your garden and the preferences of children at home.
There are no health benefits from consuming jam. But consuming peanut butter could prevent cardiovascular disease due to the elevated levels of monounsaturated fats. It provides proteins, magnesium, vitamins B3 and E, and p-coumaric acid that are of great benefit to the human body.
But because of its high fat and calorie content, peanut butter should only be consumed as part of a balanced diet.
Final Words
Peanut butter and jam both can make a bread or food tastier and people can add different spread with it. So already got the answer of what’s the difference between peanut butter and jam? Both have different flavors and texture but still we can use together or separately with bread and other food to get an extra flavors!
