Peanut Butter vs Jelly

There is considerably lot of differences between peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter, as suggested by the name, is made from peanuts and jelly is a fruit spread. The fruit can be any and depending on the fruit, the name of the jelly can vary.

In some countries, though the terms jelly and jam are used interchangeably, jelly is not jam. Jelly is set and sweetened vegetable or fruit juice. It gets the name owing to the moving and delicate yet staying-in-shape texture. Jellies usually come in small plastic bottles or cups and when taken out or inverted from the container, has the exact shape as that of the container.

Peanut butter is smooth and crunchy. It is made from ground and roasted peanuts into a smooth paste. This is stored in bottles and can be kept refrigerated for longer periods. Jelly can be used with breads and sandwiches as a spread while kids prefer to have it just like that for the jelly like or gelatinous texture inside the mouth. Peanut butter can be had with sandwiches, biscuits, and cookies as well.

In some jellies pectin is added if the fruit juice used does not contain enough. Jellies from grapes usually have added pectin content. Jelly is more of a fruit preservative and can be stored for some time. It need not be sweet always. It can have hot and savory ingredients as well.

Peanut butter is made by using hydrogenated vegetable oils, salts, dextrose, and sweeteners while the preparation of jelly is quite similar to that of jams. The only difference is that the liquid or fruit pulp after the initial heating is filtered through a jelly bag or muslin cloth when preparing jellies. So the filtering happens due to gravity and force is not applied. After filtering, the required additives are added and the jelly is kept in containers of which the shape is to be obtained and refrigerated.

Another difference between peanut butter and jelly is the texture. Jelly has a see through gelatinous texture while peanut butter is like any creamy paste. Peanut butter can be taken out in spoons or knives while jelly can be cut and it will hold the angles.

There are many health benefits of consuming peanut butter like the decreased chances of developing cardiovascular diseases. There are no such benefits of consuming jellies. But the levels of fat and calorie content in peanut butter are high, so it should be consumed in balanced diets for avoiding any unwanted health risks.

Summary:

1. Peanut butter is made from peanuts and jellies are made from the juices of vegetables and fruits.
2. Jelly has a clear and see-through texture while peanut butter is creamy and paste like.
3. Jelly takes the shape of the container in which it is stored when inverted but peanut butter does not have any such property.
4. Some fruit jellies have added pectin while no pectin is added in peanut butter.
5. There are some health benefits of consuming peanut butter in required quantities while there is nothing like that with jellies.

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