Jam usually contains juice and pulp from fruits or vegetables, although a recipe defines it as a cooked jelly jam. The term "jam" refers to a product that cuts the whole fruit into small pieces or crushed, then heats it with water and sugar to activate its pectin, and then puts it into a container:

"Jam is usually made from the flesh and juice of a fruit, not a mixture of several fruits. Berries and other small fruits are most commonly used, although larger fruits such as apricots, peaches or plums are also cut into small pieces or crushed. Jam is used for jam. Good jam texture is soft and even, no obvious fruit fragments, bright color, good fruit flavor, semi jelly texture, easy to smear, no free liquid. " – berlzheimer R (ED), etc. （1959）

Pectin is mainly D-galacturonic acid linked by α (1-4) glycoside bond. The side chain of pectin may contain a small amount of other sugars, such as L-fructose, D-glucose, D-mannose and D-xylose. In jam, pectin thickens the final product through crosslinking of large polymer chains.

Frozen jam is not cooked (or cooked for less than 5 minutes) and then frozen. It is popular in parts of North America for its very fresh taste.

Recipes without pectin use the natural pectin in the fruit to solidify. Sour apples, sour blackberries, cranberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, Concord grapes, plums and papayas work well without pectin.

Other fruits, such as apricot, blueberry, cherry, peach, pineapple, raspberry, rhubarb and strawberry, have low pectin content. To set or gel, they must be mixed with a high-grade pectin fruit, or used with commercially produced or homemade pectin. Use of added pectin can reduce cooking time.

In Canada, there are two types of jam: jam and jam. Both types contain fruit, pulp or canned fruit, and are boiled with water and sweet ingredients. Both must have 66% water-soluble solids. Fruit jam and pectin jam may contain class II preservatives, pH regulators or defoamers. Neither type can contain apples or rhubarb fruit.

Although both jams are very similar, there are some differences in fruit percentage, pectin added and acidity added. Jam must have a fruit content of at least 45% and may contain added pectin to compensate for the natural pectin content in the fruit. Pectin jam jams only need to contain 27% of the fruit and allow additional acidity to compensate for the natural acidity of the fruit.

Jam is made by boiling fruit, pulp or canned fruit with water and adding sweet ingredients. In Canada, jam must contain at least 45% of the named fruit and 66% of the water-soluble solids. If the natural pectin is insufficient, the jam may contain a small amount of pectin, pectin products or acid ingredients. In Canada, jam may also contain class II preservatives, pH regulators, defoamers, and may not contain any apples or rhubarb.