Concord Grape Jam

We had lots of Concord-type grapes this year. 

 

 

They are highly scented when they are ripe and you can smell their wonderful scent whenever you walk by.

 

 

 

This year I have made grape juice and jelly and decided to try grape jam as well. My starting point was here  http://chefinyou.com/2011/10/concord-grapes-jam/  and then I made it my way.

Ingredients
16 c grapes
2 granny apples - peeled, cored and chopped
2 c homemade pectin
6 c sugar

Start by washing, sorting and removing grapes from their stems.  I found that 8 cups of grapes off the stem is about 3 1/2 pounds.



 

 

Squeeze the grapes out of their skins and set skins aside.  I didn't find that my hands got too discoloured. 

 

Here are the grapes without their skins.   Cook the grapes until soft.  Next time I would give them a quick buzz in the food processor to help break the grapes up.  I found I had to use a potato masher to help them along.

 

Pour cooked grapes into sieve to remove the seeds. 

 

Keep working the pulp until only seeds are left.  I have been adding chopped granny apples to most of my jams this year to help with the pectin.  I also add homemade pectin to all my jams.  Add grape pulp, skins, and rest into pot and cook until you reach the jam stage.

 

 

This recipe made 7 pints of lovely jam.  It was more work than jelly but now we can compare which we like better.  ;)