Marmalade and jam

Three words sit side by side on the breakfast table, and they do not mean the same thing: jam, marmalade, fruit spread. As of June 14, 2026, the regulation behind them has changed, and jars are once again permitted to be labeled as marmalade.

Glas Walderdbeer Konfitüre von L'Épicurien

There are three words side-by-side on the breakfast table, and they do not mean the same thing: Konfitüre (jam), Marmelade (marmalade), and Fruchtaufstrich (fruit spread). Anyone comparing products on the shelf will find the same fruit under one name or the other, and since June 14, 2026, the rules behind them have even changed.

The answer in one sentence: Konfitüre and Marmelade are legally defined products with a mandated fruit content, while Fruchtaufstrich is an unregulated name. What distinguishes the three is written on every jar—not in the large word on the front, but in the line below it.

When is it Marmelade and when is it Konfitüre?

The Jam Ordinance describes Konfitüre as a spreadable preparation made from sugars, fruit pulp or fruit purée of one or more fruit types, and water. Pulp here refers to the edible part of the fruit, peeled or pitted, whether crushed or in pieces; fruit purée is the same part, only passed through a sieve. For 1,000 g of Konfitüre, at least 450 g of this must go into the kettle for most fruits; for Konfitüre extra, it is 500 g. Less is sufficient for fruits that are naturally potent: 350 g for red and black currants, rowanberries, sea buckthorn, rosehips, and quinces, and 80 g for passion fruit.

And Marmelade? Since the version that came into force in June 2026, it can once again be used on almost everything. According to Section 3 of the Ordinance, manufacturers may use the term "Marmelade" for Konfitüre and "Marmelade extra" for Konfitüre extra, with one exception: not for citrus fruits. There, the product is called citrus marmalade, and "citrus" may be replaced by the fruit, such as orange marmalade or lemon marmalade.

A separate, significantly lower threshold applies to this citrus marmalade: at least 200 g of citrus fruit per 1,000 g, of which at least 75 g must be fruit flesh. The reason lies in the fruit itself. An orange marmalade thrives on peel and bitterness, not on mass of fruit flesh, and anyone who has ever calculated 500 g of orange into a kilo of marmalade knows that no one would want to eat that on bread.

Two other words belong to the same family. Gelee (jelly) and Gelee extra are not made from pulp or purée, but from juice or aqueous extracts of the fruit; the quantity corresponds to that for Konfitüre or Konfitüre extra, calculated after subtracting the water from the extract. This is why a jelly is clear and sliceable, while Konfitüre contains pieces. Gelee-Marmelade, in turn, is a citrus marmalade from which insoluble parts have been removed, with the exception of a few finely cut strips of peel.

It gets curious when asking what actually counts as a fruit. The Ordinance classifies tomatoes, the edible parts of rhubarb stalks, carrots, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, and watermelons as fruits. Therefore, a jar of pumpkin can be called Konfitüre, a jar of rhubarb as well, and anyone wondering about tomato Konfitüre with cheese is holding something that is perfectly compliant with regulations.

Why is it no longer called Marmelade?

This question belongs to the old days, and it has been resolved. Until June 13, 2026, "Marmelade" was reserved for preparations made from citrus fruits; strawberry spread had to be called Konfitüre, even if everyone at home called it Marmelade. Since June 14, 2026, all fruity spreads may be called Marmelade again, and at the same time, the minimum quantities have increased: for Konfitüre from 350 g to 450 g per kilogram, and for Konfitüre extra from 450 g to 500 g.

On the shelves, there will be some confusion for a while, and there is a good reason for this: jars produced and labeled according to the old regulations before June 14, 2026, may be sold until stocks are exhausted. Two labels, two legal standards, the same breakfast. Anyone wanting to know what is inside should therefore not look at the big word, but at the mandatory information below it.

For citrus jars, this look is particularly worthwhile because the legal threshold is so low. Alain Milliat’s Orange Blonde Marmalade is prepared with 70 g of fruit per 100 g; the Sicilian Orange Marmalade from Antica Bottega Siciliana contains 80% orange pulp, plus orange peel and lemon juice. That is a multiple of what the Ordinance requires, and you can taste it: more fruit, less sweetness in the foreground.

What is the difference between Marmelade, Konfitüre, and Fruchtaufstrich?

Konfitüre, Konfitüre extra, Gelee, Gelee extra, citrus marmalade, and chestnut cream are described in the Ordinance; anyone writing these words on a jar must adhere to the requirements. Fruchtaufstrich is not in any ordinance. Lebensmittelklarheit, the portal of the consumer centers, puts it this way: "There is no special legal regulation for fruit spreads. It is not stipulated what ingredients they consist of and how high the fruit content must be."

But "unregulated" does not automatically mean less. The opposite is often the case because houses that cook down a lot of fruit use this word for themselves. The Senga Sengana Strawberry Fruit Spread from Alpe Pragas contains 75% strawberries, plus sugar, lemon juice, and apple pectin. Alpe Pragas is a family business since 1997, at the entrance to the Prags Valley in the Dolomites, and proudly displays its 75% fruit content on its own website. Erich Stekovics bottles his strawberry fruit spread made from the old Mieze Schindler variety with the same 75%, and his jar lists only three things: strawberries, sugar, pectin.

This leads to the litmus test that always works in the shop: read the mandatory line stating how many grams of fruit per 100 grams the jar was made from. For Konfitüre, Marmelade, and Gelee, it must be clearly legible in the same field of vision as the name, and many manufacturers voluntarily add it to their fruit spreads as well. In addition, there is the order of fruit types, which is sorted by weight share. If the naming fruit is at the front and the number below is high, you have a lot of fruit in the jar, no matter which of the three words is on top.

Two jars show how wide the range is. Fink's Delikatessen cooks its apricot Konfitüre from 73% apricots, sugar, and pectin, which is far above the 450 g per kilogram required by law. Agrimontana bottles bitter orange marmalade with 70% oranges and 2.7% orange peel, where 200 g per kilogram would suffice for citrus marmalade. The wild strawberry Konfitüre from L'Épicurien shows the other side of the same calculation with 54% strawberries and 5% wild strawberries: a bit more sweetness, a firmer spread that stays on the croissant, and wild strawberries that release their scent throughout the whole jar.

What may go inside besides fruit and sugar is strictly defined. The Ordinance allows, among other things, honey as a substitute for part or all of the sugar, liquid pectin, citrus peel, vegetable oil to prevent foaming, as well as spirits, wine, nuts, herbs, spices, and vanilla. Fruit juice, on the other hand, is only permitted in Konfitüre, not in Konfitüre extra. And all these products contain more than 55 percent soluble dry matter: this is why an open jar lasts for weeks in the refrigerator, while fresh fruit purée spoils after days. Alpe Pragas notes on the label: keep refrigerated once opened at 4 °C and consume within 2 weeks.

Three simple steps keep an open jar in good condition. Always use a clean spoon so that neither crumbs nor butter wander inside. Place the jar in the fridge after opening, just as Alpe Pragas writes on its label: keep at 4 °C and consume within 2 weeks. And if a remnant remains, stir it into yogurt or add a spoonful to gravy; the tart orange jars handle this particularly well.

It is almost unbelievable, but the fruit spreads from Alpe Pragas have accompanied us almost daily since our company was founded in 2002. We share more than just a purely business relationship with Stefan Gruber and his wife Karo. We have visited the family of six in Prags several times and also celebrated their 20th anniversary together. What excites me so much about the South Tyrolean fruit spreads is their immediate fruit taste, that the fruit and not the sweetness sets the tone, and their soft consistency, which we like much better than the gelatinous texture of other manufacturers. We always have a trio in our fridge: strawberry, apricot, and black currant, which we enjoy not only on bread, but also on yogurt with granola. I use them to glaze pastries, fill cakes, and a spoonful of red currant goes into homemade red cabbage or is served with schnitzel.

Even though the Jam Ordinance caused confusion, it clearly specified how quality levels were to be classified: Konfitüre with at least 45% fruit, Konfitüre extra with at least 50% fruit. Those who work with 65% or 75% fruit content like Alpe Pragas did not want to subordinate themselves to that and call their products Fruchtaufstrich.

Konfitüre, Marmelade, or Fruchtaufstrich: which jar for what

For what	What	On the shelf
On breakfast bread, fruity and dense	Fruit spread with 75% strawberries	Alpe Pragas, Senga Sengana
For old varieties and pure ingredient list	Fruit spread from the Mieze Schindler	Erich Stekovics, Mieze Schindler
With cheese and in sauces	Konfitüre Extra from apricots	Alain Milliat, Abricot Bergeron
For the French breakfast	Konfitüre from strawberries and wild strawberries	L'Épicurien, wild strawberry
On toast, tart and bitter	Marmelade from oranges	Alain Milliat, Orange Blonde
When it should be Sicilian	Orange marmalade with 80% orange pulp	Antica Bottega Siciliana