homemade grape jam

Grape Jam Recipe:

Get a Bowl full of Grapes

Wash and separate from vine

Squish in pot

Add a shot glass of water

Simmer and stir for about a half hour or until the skins turn to pulp

Strain out seeds and skins

Return juice to pot

Simmer juice till it turns to syrup

Add sugar or honey if needed

Cool

Add pectin

Package

Takes about an hour to do.....



One of the most daunting things that came with our house were three rows of grape vines which apparently are very old and very abundant with Concord Grapes. The grape vines sit in the middle of our field and the hubster wants to get rid of them.

I have mixed feelings about it. These grape vines are over 20 years old and are loaded with grapes, it would be a shame to get rid of them even if we hate the location of them.

The grapes have just come in season. They have seeds in them and are very sweet. I called my neighbor down the road to come and pick the grapes seeing as she is an expert canner, and loves the grapes. She makes tasty grape jam from it and gives us some of the jam, which goes in a matter of days.

So, because she made such good jam, I tried my hand at it.

I went out and picked a large bowl full of grapes. I then had to pick all the ripe ones and separate them from the vines. I then washed them, and threw them into a pot. I smashed them up, added a tiny bit of water, and simmered them on low heat till the juice turned into a syrup. Be careful not to burn the juice or you're done... You have to keep it on low heat, and stir frequently.

I then strained the juice from the seeds and skins and then continued to simmer the juice for another hour on very low heat while stirring. I added about a half cup of white sugar and about a 1/4 cup of honey. I could have done with out the sugar or honey, but my grapes were a little too tart. The next batch I will make sure to use only really ripe grapes.

I let it cool in the pot, poured them into jars and added some pectin to make it into a jam.

Done.

It is very rich, and tart.

My first batch was a total mess. I didn't simmer it long enough and ended up with concentrated grape juice.... no amount of pectin could solidify it. The next batch was more successful because I simmered and reduced it till it was a syrup.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with my outcome.

It's a lot of work for something I could just buy at the super market, but at the end of the day I know where the grapes came from... they have no pesticide, and no added preservatives. It's 100% organic. You can't get any better then that.

Apparently, you can do this with regular store bought grape juice too... just simmer it till it turns to syrup, add some pectin, and you have jam.

Now I just have to figure out how to can properly. Whenever I read about it I get overwhelmed. Pressure cookers, boiling, sealing the top, having it at the right temperature.
It seems like a lot of work that can go wrong. I'm not really feeling the canning process. In the meantime, I just put them in small tupper ware containers and make lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.