I had taken some pics and set them aside to post, but forgot....I think. I searched this site for for this subject and the honey one. I didn't find them so I shall post them now. Back in the fall we got a mass of grapes from a gardener here that grows quite a lot of fruit but doesn't do anything with it. She gave me all those grapes, so the bride and I decided to make grape jelly. Here's how we did it: The first thing that we did was to wash them and then separate them from the leaves and stems. Then I mashed them with a potato masher until they were pulpish. Next we added fire and the stamping continued. Finally the boiled pulp was strained through a rag. We let it drip out completely. Finally we potted it up in our jars. I believe that we got 10 or so jars of the jelly. It was a really nice jelly and the consistency was just right. I gave the lady a jar and thanked her.
Yum! I made some grape jelly last year as well, and it was delicious! And it was so much easier to make than I expected!
Too right NETTY!--it is easy to make. So delicious.I liked it when I was a child and never dreamed that one day I would make it for myself. I am happy to hear that you made some as well. It is especially nice because the grapes were given to us. I do not have a grapevine. That's right DROO-- just plain ole grapes out of the garden...heat, straining then add gelatin/ sugar and into the jar.
I've made grape jam before but with sugar (and pectin), but they were sour type grapes and needed the extra sweetness. Your jelly looks delicious.
MART--after the the jelly juice was strained, we added a sort of sugar that has some sort of gelatinous property with it. That gives it a little bit of body, but not much...it is still quite wibbly. 2 OF-- It is tasty. I was thinking of making jam with it but realized that it would have to have an enormous amount of the gelatine-sugar, making it way too sweet for me. I could have used rhubarb or green apples, but the flavour would have been changed a bit. Another thing was that the grapes had seeds, and those had to be strained out. So jelly was the only choice for me with these grapes. I make and eat almost exclusively jams, but this jelly is good for a change. These grapes were not sour, but still needed some sugar...mostly because I like sweetness so much.
Sjoerd,, I make grape jam ocassionally. Ask around and see if anyone has an old fashioned conical sieve you could borrow !! All you need to do is put the grape pulp into the cone and start going around the inside with the wooden pusher. That forces the pulp through the holes and holds the seeds so they can be thrown away. You can actually use less sugar with jam since the pulp makes it thick after its cooked down.
Hey Mart--Thanks for the advice on grape jam. I shall look around for one of those cones. I have never seen one before. I do have a passe-vite, which ought to do the same, I believe. Actually I prefer jam to jelly so if the lady offers me more grapes at the end of the season, maybe I will try and make the jam. BTW--do grape skins of seem bitter to you? Perhaps it depends on the grape sort and how ripe it is. I do not recall grape skins being bitter, so that would not require any sweetness fine-tuning. Plum skins I find bitter and add a dash more sugar to the jamming process because of it. I am becoming enthusiastic just thinking about the prospect making grape jam this coming fall. Fingers crossed that she'll have more grapes for me. I am going to look around for one of those cones over here. Good tip.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Alu...der-Strainer-with-Wooden-Pusher-/171882946917 Since its so early l will do it this way.
Right, I see what you mean. That looks to be a handy thing. The FOLEY NO. 101 FOOD MILL STRAINER... down lower on the same page is similar to what I currently have. Thanks for showing me that implement. It must be really early there where you live. Have you had your coffee yet? chuckle. Here it is almost 2 p.m.
Oh Yes ! Can`t get my motor running without that !! It was about 5:30am when I sent those posts !! Had already been up an hour. We are early risers. I am not fond of that type for jam making but its great for baby food or mashed potatoes. We call that a ricer around here. But it would do if you can`t get the other type. It just doesn`t hold as much and takes longer. I am not a patient person at times.
