Muscadine Jam
Heard it through the grapevine … makes ya wanna sing doesn’t it? We had a friend from church give us a bushel of Muscadine grapes…they smell so good. In the past I have mashed them and turned them into wine. This year was no different, however I had a lot of grapes leftover that would not fit in my wine vat (a large cooler), so I decided to make jam instead of jelly. Jelly is made by squeezing all of the juice out of the grapes and tossing out the pulp that is left. To me, throwing out the pulp is the best part of the grapes, and that seems like such a waste, and I hate to waste food.
I remember eating peanut butter and jam sandwiches as a kid one time when we were out haying in the fields. The jam had seeds in it and it was so good (later we found out that the ‘seeds’ were ants – thanks, Mom). But, it occurred to me that I could make grape jam with the tiny seeds if I pulverized the whole grape, skin, seeds and all in my blender. Muscadine grapes typically have large seeds. This jam is the best grape jam that I’ve ever tasted (sorry, Smucker’s).
I have also researched to see what the pros and cons are from eating grape seeds, and found many pros. Grape seeds are typically turned into grape seed oil used for cancer prevention, diabetes, pain relief for arthritis as well as many other health benefits. Eating grape seeds will improve your health. They are packed with omega-3 fatty acids and a high level of vitamin A and E.
9 ½ cups blended Muscadine grapes (3 1/2 quarts whole grapes)
9 cups sugar
½ cup lemon juice
Put grapes in blender with ½ cup water per batch, (I did about 5 cups of grapes at a time) and blend on low at first, then high for 1-2 minutes, until pulverized. Add all ingredients to your preserving pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it comes to a rolling boil, reduce heat slightly, but continue to boil. Stir often. Cook 50-60 minutes or until gel stage is reached, 218°- 222°. Once gel stage is reached remove from heat and skim off any foam and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes (this will prevent the muscadine seeds from floating to the top). Spoon into hot sterilized jars and process in boiling water bath 5 minutes; remove jars, place on cooling racks for 24 hours.
Yield: 12 8 oz. jelly jars.
© Crackerberries 2012
