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| Jan collecting grapes |
The muscadine and scuppernong grapes have been ripening over the past few weeks. The vines we have are overgrown and we hope to prune them before next year. We do not even know what varieties we have! This post follows our intention to make jelly with the grapes, but as you will read, the result was "jamly."
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| Ripening grapes. This is our blush pink variety. |
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| A ripe deep purple grape |
There are small purple, large deep purple, and a blush pink. We have been enjoying eating the grapes, but their skins are a little tough! We decided to make grape jelly as the grapes seem to be coming in at full force!
We mashed the grapes and simmered them on the stove for ten minutes. This allowed for the pectin to begin thickening and the juices to break down.
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| Cooked grapes on the stove. |
Then we processed the cooked grapes in a food mil in order to separate the seeds and skins out.
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| Food mill over a bowl |
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| Grapes being crushed in the food mill |
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| Discarded skins |
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| Liquid after processing in the food mill |
After the processed juice sat in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours, sugar was added and the mixture cooked until set. It was then we realized we forgot a major step in making jelly--draining the juice in a jelly bag so the result would be clear jelly! Oh well, too late. The cooked mixture was put in jars and hot water bathed until complete. Therefore, the finished product is called "jamly," an intention to make jelly with the result of jam.
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| Canned jamly |
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| It has a wonderful flavor and a good consistency |
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| Appropriate labels |
