Fruit preserves

Fruit preserves are preparations of fruits, vegetables and sugar, often canned or sealed for long-term storage.

Many varieties of fruit preserves are made globally, including sweet fruit preserves, such as strawberry or apricot, as well as savoury preserves of vegetables, such as tomatoes or squash. The ingredients used and how they are prepared determine the type of preserves; jams, jellies, and marmalades are all examples of different styles of fruit preserves that vary based upon the fruit used. In English the world over the plural form "preserves" is used to describe all types of jams and jellies.

Regional terminology

The term 'preserves' is usually interchangeable with 'jams'. Some cookbooks define preserves as cooked and gelled whole fruit (or vegetable), which includes a significant portion of the fruit. In the English speaking world, the two terms are more strictly differentiated and, when this is not the case, the more usual generic term is 'jam'.

Jam apart from being a particular type of preserve (spreadable containing the fruit) is also used as a general term (in British and Commonwealth English) for any type of fruit preserve (e.g. "the jam factory in Tiptree") while in the US the term jelly is preferred; e.g. a jam donut or a jam sandwich in the UK, Ireland and Canada is a jelly donut and a jelly sandwich in the US.

General officer

A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations' air forces or marines.

The term "general" is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, which rank was taken from Middle French capitaine général. The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction.

Today, the title of "General" is known in some countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks. It has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies.

General officer ranks

The various grades of general officer are at the top of the military rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in land-centric military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers.