When we moved to this place almost five years ago, the whizened but still productive apple trees in the back yard really appealed to us. It took another year for us to discover the old
grapevine, long since whacked back by lawnmowers that had no idea what they were hitting. Then my husband coaxed it to produce grapes, but we discovered that timing was crucial; frost killed them one year, inopportune rain another, but mostly we had to beat the raccoons to the bounty. This year, everything came together perfectly. We had decent rain this spring. We had a dry summer as the grapes were ripening. We beat the raccoons.
Late last week, I tasted a few grapes. Mmmm. The ones with the golden glow were ripe.
Then I started looking for jelly and jam recipes and learned that the best grape jam or jelly is made from a blend of ripeness of grapes. We picked the rest–about seven pounds total.
Then I had to pick my recipe. I decided on a recipe for grape jam from an 1899 cookbook that belonged to my great-grandmother, plus pectin to make sure the jam jelled. It was simple. I could use some of the fruit but avoid having to deal with the thick skins. I could feel the familial and historical ties.
I picked the grapes off the vines and then triple washed them to make sure they were really clean. I then mashed them with a potato masher, cooked them with a little water for about ten minutes, and re-mashed. Then I used a food mill to separate the skins and seeds from the flesh, yielding more than 10 cups of juice with pulp from about 7 pounds of grapes on the vine.
Next I added about one and a half cups of sugar. Honestly, I didn’t want to add any, but I only had regular pectin on hand and thus added the sugar. After tasting that low-sugar addition, I opted for a low-sugar pectin after all. I added the pectin as recommended and processed the jars for 10 minutes. I got 9 half-pints and one stubby jar plus a little extra that I refrigerated. If you notice that we’re missing almost a cup from the juice measurement, you’re right. We had to drink some! Next year I’ll can more to drink.
Tackling a new canning project is easy, once you know the basics. It’s an easy step from basic pickles to jams and jellies and canning high-acid vegetables like tomatoes. In a few weeks, I’ll be posting a recipe and procedure for making marinara (spaghetti sauce) using a pressure canner, which is a wonder that will let you can low-acid products safely.
Now, for all of you horticulturists and viticulturists out there, can you tell me what kind of grapes we have? They are a seeded, thick-skinned variety, which makes me think I should have made wine instead of jam.
Copyright 2010 Ozarkhomesteader, including photographs. All rights reserved.
Lovely photos! Enjoy the jam. I miss the old grapevines from my home in New England. I had fox grapes (very similar to concords) and a wine variety that a previous owner had planted. The deer usually got to the wine grapes before I did, but every year I harvested enough fox grapes to make a gallon of delicious purple grape juice. Yum!
I’ve heard of fox grapes. Wine grapes sound lovely too. Were your wine grapes red? I do wish I knew what we have.
I’m giving serious consideration to planting some vines here, since we discovered they can do well. I’d love to have our own grape juice and wine.
Thanks for the sweet comments about the photos. An abundance of fruit or vegetables seems to make for easy photography. (For Jason, who commented on a Petrified Forest post, if you are reading this: I took these photos before our conversation about the rule of thirds.)
We just harvested 17+ pounds of grapes off our 2-year old vines, so I had a similar experience this weekend. We planted the vines ourselves, so we knew what we had…a small purple, seedless Concord for eating (my son just stood there gobbling!), and a white, seeded Concord that look an awful lot like yours. Not having the slightest idea what to do with them (the white ones weren’t very good for eating out of hand because of the seeds and thick bitter skins), I did some research and found out that Concord grapes are a unique, old “slip skin” variety unlike other table or wine grapes. If you give them a good squeeze the pulp and seeds simply shoot out of the skin; they’re not connected. So if your “skins slip,” it’s probably a Concord, which are closely related to fox or other wild grapes. Our white ones have the classic Concord grape taste. I made a big batch of grape conserve this weekend, and will juice the rest, with the pulp becoming grape catsup.
Marie, your name is my great-grandmother’s name!
Are there green Concords? Ours really did taste more like wine than Concord grape juice, but terroir makes such a difference. Where are you located?
That’s pretty funny! Morton is a good, old name. It’s my married name, and I’ve run into at least 2 others who share it.
I didn’t think there was such a thing as green Concords myself, but last year I waited and waited and waited for them to turn purple, and they just never did. I finally gave up and tried one and they were most definitely ripe. So this year, I knew they were ripe when they were golden, and since they simply started falling off the vines, I decided they were ripe, and they were. As for them REALLY being Concords…well, we bought the vines last year at WalMart of all places, and that’s what the tag said. That doesn’t necessarily make it correct, but without a doubt, they are slip skin grapes. And from what I’ve read, only Concords, wild/fox grapes & related varieties are like that.
As for our terroir, we’re in Fredericksburg, Virginia (Zone 7). Hot, steamy summers, typically moderate winters (although this last year was an exception!), and right on the fall line. Perhaps not all that different from your part of the Ozarks. Hmmm…it’s all interesting!
Knowing this part of the country, ours may be fox grapes. Thank you for the comparison with yours. I wish I could taste them side by side.
My great-grandmother’s given name was Marie. I think I’ve only met a few Maries my whole life. When I think Morton, I think salt.
can someone help me , none of my grape jelly is setting, what am I to do???????????????????????????????????????????????
Hi, Rose. How did you make it? Did you use pectin?