Concord Grape Jelly

My husband and I own a rental property; we used to live in the downstairs apartment. It is a multi-unit home built in the 1860’s and has been in his family for generations. Long ago, his relatives planted a sour cherry tree, peach trees, and concord grape bushes. We get to reap the fruits of their labors, quite literally.

This year was a true bumper crop of concord grapes. From the two bushes in the front yard, we picked over 70 pounds of grapes. I have made so much grape jelly and grape juice I think my hands are permanently dyed purple. I have been giving away jars and jugs and I still have a refrigerator full of the stuff down cellar. Lucky for me, I think there is nothing as delicious as an english muffin with butter and grape jelly for breakfast.

You might not have 70 pounds of grapes to deal with, but if you have 4 or there about, you can make around 4 to 6 pint jars of grapey-goodness. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 lbs of concord grapes, rinsed and taken from the stems

water

3 ounces of fluid fruit pectin

7 cups of sugar

Method:

Put the grapes in a large pot over medium high heat. Add an inch of water to the pot. Boil the grapes until softened and fallen apart. The liquid should be a deep, vibrant purple.

Pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the larger debris; discard the solids. Pour through another fine mesh sieve lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth; discard any solids.

From this grape juice, measure four cups. If you don’t have quite four cups, add a little water.

Place the four cups of grape juice into a large, heavy bottomed pot on medium high heat. Stir in the sugar. Bring to a fast boil. Stir in the liquid pectin and boil hard for 1 minute; remove from heat. Pour into sterile jars with lids and store in the fridge or can in a water bath. Enjoy!

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