well, father steve, you're right that butter does have an etymology that brings it back to cows..and cheese. but the American heritage dictionary, right from the start has (see highlight) fruit and nuts spreads called butters.

and there is also the mineral, butter of antimony, which is a soft metal, and called a butter.


BUTTER
NOUN: 1. A soft yellowish or whitish emulsion of butterfat, water, air, and sometimes salt, churned from milk or cream and processed for use in cooking and as a food. 2. Any of various substances similar to butter, especially: a. A spread made from fruit, nuts, or other foods: apple butter. b. A vegetable fat having a nearly solid consistency at ordinary temperatures. 3. Flattery.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English butere, from Old English, from Latin btrum, from Greek boutron : bous, cow; see gwou- in Appendix I + tros, cheese; see teu- in Appendix I.
also see
butyraceous

SYLLABICATION: bu·ty·ra·ceous
PRONUNCIATION: byt-rshs
ADJECTIVE: Resembling butter in appearance, consistency, or chemical properties.
ETYMOLOGY: Latin btrum, butter; see butter + –aceous.

in the US, the FDA (food and drug administraion) regulate 'food terms' so producers can't just call anything 'preserves' --preserves have to have chunks of fruit, preserved in a thick syrup created with sugar and pectin. Jam is crushed fruit, or fruit puree in sugar and pectin, and jelly is clear fruit juice, thickened with sugar and pectin. all the 'defination' indicate how much fruit there is to be in relation to sugar... i don't think they have a 'defination' for fruit butter, (they might) Schmuckers makes 'just fruit spread' its made with consentrated fruit juice (instead of sugar) and it can't be called 'jam' or 'jelly' (which they make an 'issue' of in the commercial.--without explaining why it can't be called jelly)

Apple butter would clearly be 'jam' since it contains pureed apples, not chunks, or whole apples. strawberry preserves (and raspberry, etc) have to have chunks or whole fruit.

there is a defination for marmalade too, (what percentage of fruit to peel, to sugar) but i never made marmalade, so i never read up about it.


my other obsession