Don't butter me up

Ever wonder what the differences are between all the jellies, jams, fruit butters, and other spreads out there? The specifics are still a bit confusing to me, but I do know they are all yummy on some toast.

Braswell's Mango Fruit Butter

Where purchased: Meijer
Price: $3.19
Overall rating: 3/5

I found this site, which has some helpful information and links to determine the differences among the various fruit spreads. http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/fruits/a/fruitbutters.htm.  Basically, fruit butters are made by cooking whole or halved unpeeled fruit until tender, putting it through a sieve or foodmill, and adding sugar and spices and cooking it down until thick. There isn't any actual butter in it - its name comes from the fact that it is smooth and spreads like softened butter.

One of the benefits of fruit butter is that it usually has much less sugar than jams, jellies, and preserves. I think this has something to do with the sugar acting as a preservative in those methods, and also serving as a gelling agent, requiring it to be present in higher quantities. Fruit butter can also be used in baking - much like you might use applesauce - as a substitute for sugar and oil to add sweetness and moisture.

The mango butter I tried was surprisingly sweet, and I really like the way it spreads. I did find this particular flavor a little weird, though. It isn't off-putting, it just doesn't taste like mango or anything tropical at all. Maybe more like apricot. I'm really not sure, but it isn't my favorite. I think I will try fruit butter again (I have had apple butter, although I usually use that for baking), but probably a different flavor. The mango just sounded so interesting to me that I had to give it a whirl!

This product receives an overall rating of 3. It's not bad, it just isn't my favorite flavor of fruit spread. I do like that it has a bit less sugar, carbs, and calories (6g, 6g, 25) than the Smucker's Simply Fruit (8g, 10g, 40) that I usually buy, and runs pretty close in price. I am also interested  in trying it as a baking substitute... maybe some sort of mango muffins are in my future?