Wild Grape Jelly

As the days begin to shorten and fruits and vegetables ripen, food preservation season is upon us. We have canned food on and off for many years, but this is the first year we will be preserving food from our little property. We have a Concord grape vine that is full of fruit, but is still a couple of weeks away from harvest. While Maggie was out walking this weekend, she noticed that the wild grape vines that line part of our fenceline were full of grapes. We decided to pick them at try our hand at making a batch of grape jelly.

Harvesting these grapes was easier said then done, as the best fruit always seemed to be on a part of the vine that had climbed to the top of the nearest tree. Exposed to more air and sun, these grapes looked great, if not slightly out of reach. We were able to pull some vines down, and also get enough literal low-hanging fruit to fill a large bowl with bunches of tiny grapes.

I checked our canning books, and all of the recipes were for Concord grape jelly. Wild grapes are much smaller, with large seeds and little flesh, so I was worried a Concord grape jelly recipe may not work. I checked online, and found this one at Food.com. This recipe also worried me, as it called for adding 3 cups of water to the grapes to get 3 cups of juice. Most fruit jelly recipes call for little water to be added, but these small grapes seemed to warrant the addition of more liquid. I decided to add the water in increments.

Wild grapes are small and difficult to get off the stems. I put the bowl of grapes in the freezer for a few hours to firm them up and make them easier to handle. After an hour of separating grapes from stems, I started to remember how much prep work goes into canning, but I ended up with a bowl of grapes, and a bowl of stems for the compost pile.

I measured out 3 pounds of grapes into a pot and added 1 cup of water. Smashing the grapes with a potato masher, I brought the mixture to a boil for 10 minute, occasionally mixing and smashing. I transferred the mixture to a jelly bag suspended over a large glass measuring cup, and allowed the juice to drain for about 15 minutes. The goal was to get 3 cups of juice; I ended up with 2-1/2 cups. I transferred the mashed grapes back to the pot and added another cup of water, and boiled the mixture for about 5 minutes. I transferred the mash back to the jelly bag, and ended up with exactly 3 cups of juice, using only 2 cups of water instead of the 3 cups the recipe called for. My theory is that this method of incremental water addition will give a more concentrated juice.

Grape juice apparently contains tartrate, which is related to cream of tartar. Some canning books recommend that the juice be allowed to sit overnight in the refrigerator to allow the tartrate to settle, and then re-filter the juice through a jelly bag the next day. If this is not done, the tartrate can crystallize in the jelly and produce a grainy consistency. This reminds me of filtering our maple syrup to remove sugar sand. I did not do this for this first batch of grape jelly, but I did for a later batch to see if there is a difference.

During the juice draining, I measured 4-1/2 cups of sugar into a stockpot. The usual jelly ratio of juice to sugar is 3/4-cup to 1-cup of sugar per cup of juice, but since the wild grapes were more tart that domestic versions, I stuck with the higher amount of sugar. I got my canning pot simmering, with 8 1/2-pint jars for sterilizing. I always throw a few extra jars into the pot in case something goes wrong.

I poured the grape juice into the stockpot with the sugar, and set the pot on the stove. Mix constantly to dissolve the sugar and keep the mixture from scorching. When the mixture began to boil, I added 1/2-teaspoon of butter to reduce foaming. Once the mixture got to a rolling boil, I added one pouch of liquid pectin. I boiled the mixture hard for about a minute and a half, and took the pot off the heat. I used a small ladle to skim the small amount of foam from the top of the jelly. I drained my hot jars from their water batch, and filled 5 jars and about half of a sixth one. On went the lids and bands and the full jelly jars were processed for 5 minutes. I fished the jars out and placed them on a wire rack to cool. The half jar of jelly will go in the refrigerator for some morning toast.

Canning Season is Underway

After a couple of hours of canning, there is no better sound that the 'ping' of jar lids sealing shut. We started our season with a few stalks of wild asparagus, and will wind things down with our wild grape jelly. The jelly came out great, making a successful practice run for the rest of canning season.

Base Recipe:

3 pounds stemmed wild grapes

up to 3 cups water

4-1/2 cups sugar

1 pouch liquid pectin

Makes 5 1/2-pint jars of jelly