Grape Jam

These grapes were a gift from one of the girls that attended one of my canning classes. She grows grapes and they are delicious based on the jam that I made. It turned out great. I decided to make this jam with the whole grape. I did not use a food strainer with this jam like I had with grape jelly we made last year.





I do have to say that using the whole grape makes a big difference and we all love texture in our jam.

I started by rinsing the grapes and stemming them. I did not peel them I wanted the tart of the peels and they are very fine peels thus so many cooked down. Simmering the grapes in a large pot. I mushed a lot of them but made sure some were left whole for the jam.





Here are your Ingredients

5 cups of fresh grapes
1 lemon squeezed in the  mixture
1 tablespoon of lemon zest (you can use less I like a little tart to mine)
5 cups of sugar
1 box of pectin




Once the grapes were to the consistency I wanted I added the lemon juice and zest (mine was frozen that is why it looks like more in the picture) Then I brought the jam up to a boil that could not be stirred down.

Next you add your pectin mixture. * Put the pectin and the same amount sugar into a measuring cup and mix it up it makes it easier to add and dissipate into the mixture when added.
Bring it back up to a boil and add your sugar. Return the mixture to a rapid boil and stir until it reaches a boiling point of 221 or it has reach the set point. Use the spoon test to make sure.








Spoon test. Purrrfect

 Turn the heat off and let your jam sit for 5 minutes while you get your warm jars ready. Ladle the jam into the jars leaving 1/2 inch of head room. Wipe the rim clean and cap. Water bath for 25 minutes.







Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Grape Ginger Jelly

This Grape Jam came from the grape adventure my friend
Darcy took me on. We were able to pick all the grapes by hand.
When you have been preserving food for a while people start to give you a free pass to pick there fruits and vegetables ! Just remember to give them some of your goodies once canned!




I have so many grapes but in cooking and straining them down it was not quite as much. I made a Grape Strawberry Jam and a Grape Marmalade and now this one Grape Ginger Jam and I do know how much people love the ginger! I always get a large amount from the local farm and use it in so many ways. Candied Ginger is great for a Holiday gift giving.





Once I cooked them down I did get a fair amount
of fresh juice. I let my grape mixture cool down a bit and ran it through my Jelly Strainer.

My Jelly Strainer

Ingredient's

4 cups of fresh grape juice
1 cup chopped ginger
1/4 cup of lemon zest
4 tbs lemon juice
4  cups sugar






Alright start by putting your grape juice into a large pot.  Bring this to a boil and while it is getting there add your chopped ginger. Add your lemon juice.  Bring the grape juice and ginger mix to a rapid boil, stir- stir -stir.

You want this to come to a rapid boil that you can not stir down. Now add you sugar and bring it up to another rapid boil. Like all the jam's we make this jelly is no different we need to get it to the temperature for a good gel. the gel point of 222 degrees is the temperature we need .

Once you have reached the gel point you can turn the heat off let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Slowly and carefully scrap the foam off the top. Here is the Foam story

Alright now all that is left to do is fill those jars 1/4" from the top, wipe the rims, cap and water bath. Water bath for 15 minutes.

This makes about 8 half pints. Make sure you date and label with the name of the jelly you have in the jar's.

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes.

Grape Strawberry Jam

Well we all know I have been hemming and hawing about the grapes, the strainer, the time, the arm, blah blah blah...
Well here we go. We have the grapes fresh off the vine cooked down and strained. In the new strainer but I do say that I like the old method betta! But this post is about the jam so I will try not to get side tracked...Right! 

The strawberries looked good enough to eat the minute I started.  I did look and perhaps my research is just not good enough. There are plenty of plan ole' grape jelly but none with other stuff added. Thus here is one of the two I made.

They are delicious!

Ingredients

 Grape & Strawberry Jam 

2 cup of grape juice 
3 cup fresh strawberries
1 lemon squeezed in
6 cups of sugar
1 box powder pectin *if bulk 6 tablespoons
* Put the pectin and the same amount sugar into a measuring cup and mix it up it makes it easier to add and dissipate into the mixture when added.

Diane had trouble getting this to set so we tweaked the recipe a bit. This is the time I need to thank you guys for letting me know when something just does not work for you it helps me re-can and re-work a recipe. Thank you Diane! The one thing I do say is if you have had trouble with any jam recipe setting just add an additional 2 tablespoons of pectin to it.

 Instruction: 


Alright start by putting your grape juice into a large pot.  Bring this to a boil and while it is getting there add your strawberries. Squeeze your lemon juice in.  I put the strawberries in whole and mush them as I am waiting for my rapid boil. Feel free to cut them up or how every you want to add for texture and consistency that you like. Bring the grape juice and strawberries to a rapid boil, stir- stir -stir.

Alright add your pectin mixture keep stirring. Look how good those biceps are lookin'. You want this to come to a rapid boil  that you can not stir down.

This is done - see the foam and rapid boil

With all the stirring you do when making jam I find that having everything measured and ready makes the process easier.

Once the pectin mixture is dissolved add your sugar and continue to stir. 






Good your jam should be into a rapid boil and have foam on the top.










Turn the  heat off let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Slowly and carefully scrap the foam off the top you may get a few strawberries. Here is the Foam story

(Little side note- My grama use to scrap the foam and give it to us on crackers. We would sit and just wait for the foam it was such a treat. But today they say dis-guard it. Ya think I do...)

Happy Jarz

Please sanitized your jars  - Here is a quick note from Pick your own my go to site


Alright now all that is left to do is fill those jars 1/4" from the top, wipe the rims, cap and water bath. Water bath for 15 minut4s.  This makes about 8 half pints.






Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Center for Home Preservation for additional information and available classes. 

Jelly Strainer

Ok so much for fitting it on the big pan

Balance baby balance

Kinda creepy lusciou

That is the subject this weekend. I am going to go study up and find some new ways to make it. Ok done ..With all my Internet studies and book stuff there seems to be not many grape jelly recipes that incorporate other items. Thus Sunday was experiment with grape jelly. Thus we had a nice fresh flat of strawberries left from yesterdays BBQ. And some fresh ginger and lemon slices.







Look it all started here