Grape Jelly recipes

[frustratedearthmother]

I got some fig jam this year too. Dehydrated most of them last year.

 

[TexasLisa]

I tried dehydrating them a couple of years ago. It was my first time and I didn't have much luck with them. :/

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Mini, are you saying that the bottled grape juice from the store (unsweetened) will make grape jelly that rivals fresh jelly made from locally harvested concords?

 

[bambi]

Thank you, it is good to know that unsweetened grape juice can be used. I have never looked for it in the store. Is it found in the jar and canned juice section or frozen?

 

[bambi]

We made grape jelly from the grape juice in the store when I was in high school. Gotta love Home Economics class. I still have the recipe, and it makes good jelly. We used the jar of ready to drink grape juice not frozen concentrate, but I think the concentrate works also, just remember to add the water to it.
However, it can be pretty hard to find real grape juice in the store now-a-days. Everything seems to be apple/pear juice flavored to taste like grape juice. You don't want "cocktail juice", you need to read the ingredients and make sure it is 100% grape juice.
I made some cherry juice a couple of months ago and am not really sure I like drinking cherry juice. I think I will try making cherry jelly with the rest of it.

Yum!! Please let us know how it turns out

 

[TexasLisa]

WyoDreamer you brought back memories. For my project in Home Ec I made Grape Jelly from my granddad’s Concord Grapes. Time consuming but it sure was good.
The teacher opened the jar, slid the whole thing onto a plate to see if it jiggled. It did! She graded by form, taste, and presentation. I made an ‘A’.

 

[Mini Horses]

Didn't know that about wine grapes & jelly. Thanks.

 

[flowerbug]

i've only made jam from the concord vine here that i used to have. didn't mind the crystals. i've never attempted to make jelly as that is a bit too finicky for my brain and i like the pulp of fruits in things. the only tip i have for this type of jam was that the recipe called for some amount of green/fairly unripe grapes to make sure there was enough pectin. it always turned out well and the flavor was much more intense than the jam in the jars from the store.

alas the grape vine suffered from perpetual black rot once it got infected and i refuse to baby or spray a plant if it can't survive and bear well, plus it got a split in the main stem and so i removed the vine. eventually i may replace it if i can find one resistant to black rot.

low sugar items would probably need a certain kind of pectin and recipe that i've not done. i have some freezer jam for the strawberries that i always make plus i put up some strawberries in jars with mixed amounts of sugar to see which ones we like the most. the last time i tried to do just plain strawberries in the freezer they were staring to ferment so i thought that perhaps the freezer would kill that process off and i'd have some slightly fermented strawberries to use. nope. they kept a slow ferment going until i opened them (some blew their tops off as soon as i removed the rings i had on them). ended up feeding all that to the worms. live and learn.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

FB, Pomona's pectin is the "go to" for making low sugar jams and jellies. Using Pomonas is just about as easy as making jello! It uses calcium to complete the jel process. Each package comes with a little packet of calcium which is more than enough to react with all of the pectin. You can use any kind of sweetener, and only need to use as much as your palate dictates.

 

[Britesea]

The downside of low sugar jellies and preserves is that once they are opened, they're only good for about 3 weeks (?) in the fridge, because the sugar is what acts as a preservative.