I am about to speak what some may think is a bit of a heresy:  I don’t really like grape jelly.  To me, it’s just sweet and without a lot of the fruity flavor that I look for in my spreads.  However, in a bit of irony, my FAVORITE homemade spread is actually Wild Grape Jam.

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Why?  Because it is super tart and super grape-y.  If you read last week’s post, you read about our Wild Grape Harvest  and how we prepare the grapes for making into jam. 

Maybe you’re asking yourself: what makes it jam? 

It’s the fact that the wild grape jam is not clear.  According what I have read on the interwebs, the difference between jelly and jam is the clarity.  Jelly is clear, jam is not.  So because we use a food mill to incorporate the skins into our spread, we end up with a dark jam.  The skins also add to the tartness factor.

Once you have prepared your fruit, the making of the jam is very easy.

Begin by preparing your jars. You will need to sterilize jelly jars. I use a mix of 8 oz and 4 oz jars because jam and jelly make awesome teacher gifts. I use the Ball Canner . Jars should boil for at least 10 minutes. I usually get my canner going and once the water is boiling, I add the jars. Then I move forward with making the jam.

Making Wild Grape Jam

In a heavy bottom pot, add the prepared grape pulp and sugar. Stir constantly while bringing the fruit and sugar to a boil. Once the fruit come to a full–a can’t be stirred down boil–add the liquid pectin. Return to a boil and cook on high for 1 minute.

Add jam to prepared jars. Leave a quarter inch head space. Cover with two part lids and then process in the canner for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, remove from the canner and allow jars to cool on a dish towel. Delish!

So if you love preserving the harvest, check out my other Jam and Jelly recipes and my Garlic Dill Pickle recipe too!

This is a two part post. Wild Grape Jam first requires a harvest which in and of itself is a number of steps before actually making the jam. So here is step one: how to harvest wild grapes.

We live in the Finger Lakes which many of you might know is known for its wines. There is something about the lakes and the soil quality that makes it ideal for growing grapes. As a result, well, grapes literally grow like weeds. We have them all over our property. In fact, in one area, they have completely choked out the wild black raspberries that once grew in that spot.

Wild grapes are tiny and have seeds. That means you need a lot of them to get enough juice to make wild grape jam. But oh, it is so worth the work.

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Harvest Wild Grapes

So, the first step is heading out into the woods or wherever to find those wild grapes. I usually take a 5 gallon bucket and a pair of kitchen scissors.

Make sure that what you are picking is growing in bunches and has grape leaves. We have another purplish berry that grows in these parts that truly is a weed since the berries are poisonous. However, they are pretty easy to spot if you know what to look for: their stems are greenish and the berries do not grow in bunches, but rather individually at the end of stems. Grape stems will be brown this time of year and they have a very distinctive leaf.

Preparation

Once you fill your bucket, wash the grapes and pick through them.

Put them in a heavy bottom pot to cook down. You can add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, so they don’t burn. As the grapes heat up, they will burst and they juices will start to emerge. Let the grapes cook until it comes to a boil.

Preparing the Pulp

Working in batches, use a food mill to push the grape juice, pulp and skins through the sieve while leaving the seeds behind. Be careful not to grind the seeds into your mixture. You will hear and feel as the seed begin to crack. That is when you will know it is time to scrape the seeds out and work another batch.

Once you are done moving all the grapes through the food mill, you will have a thick juice.  Be sure to use a rubber scraper to remove all the pulp that remains on the bottom side of the food mill.  You will need 4 cups of pulp, so if you are close (like 3.5 or more), you can add a little water to round it out.  If you are really short, you might need to head back to the picking stage.  Alternatively, you can add some commercial grape juice (make sure it is 100% juice, organic is preferable).

At this point, you can move on to making Wild Grape Jam or you can freeze it for a canning blitz day.  Be sure to join me next week, for my recipe for Wild Grape Jam.  It is probably my favorite of all jams and jellies because wild grapes are tart which makes this jam a sweet-tart delight.

If you can’t wait until next week to get the recipe for Wild Grape Jam or you just love preserving the harvest, check out my other Jam and Canning Recipes here.