The world’s first known book of recipes, Of Culinary Matters, written by the Roman gastronome Marcus Gavius Apicius in the first century, includes recipes for fruit preserves.

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It is believed that returning Crusaders first introduced jams and jellies to Europe; by the late Middle Ages, jams, jellies and fruit conserves were popular there. In fact, the word “jelly” comes from the French word “gelee” which means to congeal. The use of cane sugar to make jam and jelly can be traced back to the 16th century when the Spanish came to the West Indies where they preserved fruit.

Marmalade is thought to have been created in 1561 by the physician to Mary, Queen of Scots, when he mixed orange and crushed sugar to keep her seasickness at bay. It has been suggested, in fact, that the word marmalade derives from the words “Marie est malade” (Mary is sick), but it is far more likely that the derivation is from the Portuguese word marmelo for quince.

Books on jam-making were published by the late 17th century. In the United States, early New England settlers preserved fruits with honey, molasses, or maple sugar. Pectin extracted from apple parings was used to thicken jellies.

In 1897, Jerome M. Smucker first pressed cider at a mill in Orrville, Ohio. Later, he prepared apple butter too, which he offered in crocks that each bore a hand-signed seal -- his personal guarantee of quality.

The International Jelly & Preserve Association was organized in 1898 as the National Preservers Association to found and keep current standards of excellence of product and service for the preserve industry and to promote and protect the interests of both consumers and manufacturers of industry products.

A grape jam patent was first issued to Paul Welch in 1917 for the puréeing of grapes. He called the product “Grapelade.” The entire production was purchased by the U.S. Army and shipped to France for consumption by the troops during World War I. When the troops returned to the States after the war, they demanded more of this “Grapelade,” and it was produced in quantity.

The Food and Drug Administration established Standards of Identity for what constitutes jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butters.

In the U.S. approximately one billion pounds of fruit spreads are produced annually. Per capita consumption is approximately 4.4 pounds. The market for preserve products has been stable for 20 years, following significant growth in the years following World War II.

Nine flavors account for more than 80 percent of total U.S. production. The most popular are grape jelly and strawberry jam. They are followed by grape jam, red raspberry jam, orange marmalade, apple jelly, apricot jam, peach jam and blackberry jam, in that order. An additional 28 flavors are commonly produced that account for less than 20 percent of total production.

Preserves currently represent 34% of the total sales in the overall fruit spread category (jams, jellies, preserves, fruit spreads, marmalades). Jams make up 22% of sales with jelly sales close behind at 21% of sales. Fruit spreads are 17% of sales, and marmalades make up the rest of the category with 5.4% of sales. Annual retail sales for jams, jellies, fruit spreads and preserves are approximately $632 million.